^■5\- 


iW- 


N^    I,      '>'«>t-j/il 


-^. '/■'.-,. 


'M:' 


'-mm 


>-;^^  \.A 


-¥  -^ 


m.:. 


CQ 


4.    A. 


.^^V" 


s^^^vif- 


-#-t> 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 

Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALSWORTH. 

Received  October,  i8g4. 
Accessions  No.$^y3(pf.      CLns  No. 


SOLD  JY 


AUSt'FJ^ 


NOTES 


OF 


LECTURES  ON  THE  CANON. 

LECTURE  I. 

1.  By  the  word  canon,  and  the  equivalent  phrases,  "ca- 
non of  scripture,"  "canonical  writings,"  &c.,  is  designed 
the  collection  of  books,  which  christians  acknowledge  as 
sacred,  and  authoritative  as  to  faith  and  duty. 

2.  The  word  canon  is  Greek,  and  in  classical  use  signi- 
fies a  rule.  As  applied  to  our  scriptures,  it  has  commonly 
been  understood  to  indicate  that  these  are  the  rule  or  stand- 
ard of  doctrine  and  practice.  This  reason  for  the  adoption 
of  the  term,  .seems  most  probable. 

The  precise  time  when  this  appellation  was  first  given  to 
these  writings,  cannot  be  accurately  fixed.  Some  have 
imagined  that  Paul  gave  this  title  to  the  scriptures.  Gal.  6: 
16,  Phil.  3:  16,  but  without  sufficient  reason.  It  is  not  im- 
possible, however,  that  Paul's  use  of  the  word  xavwv  in 
these  instances,  may  have  been  the  occasion  of  the  name. 
It  is  certain  at  least  that  christians  quite  early  so  applied 
the  term.* 

Other  opinions,  however,  as  to  the  origin  and  design  of 
the  appellation  have  been  advanced  : — 

As  in  ecclesiastical  usage,  the  word  xavw/  came  to  slg- 
nif}"  a  catalogue,  Du  Pin  and  others  have  supposed  that 
our  scriptures  were  called  canonical,  only  because  the  cata- 
logue of  them  was  called  canon.  To  this  it  has  been  an- 
swered, that  the  w^ord  in  the  sense  of  catalogue,  (never  oc- 


*This  word  is  employed  to  designate  our  sacred  books,  by  Iren32iis 
and  Clemens  Alexandrinus,  towards  the  close  of  the  2d  century. 

1 


curring  in  classic  use,)  is  not  found  in  christian  writers  till 
the  4th  century  ;  but  before  this  period  the  word  was  cer- 
tainly applied  by  them  to  the  sacred  volume. 

Whiston  is  singular  in  his  opinion  that  the  terms  canon 
and  canonical,  in  reference  to  our  scriptures,  were  intend- 
ed to  signify  those  books  which  were  authorized  by  the  last 
of  the  apostolical  canons.     But, 

(1.)  There  is  abundant  reason  to  believe,  as  will  here- 
after be  seen,  that  these  apostolical  canons  are  utterly  spu- 
rious and  of  later  date. 

(2.)  This  could  not  have  been  the  reason  with  the  an- 
cient christians  for  adopting  tHe  riame, — -for  some  of  the 
books  recited  in  that  apostolical  canon  they  rejected  as 
uncanonical,  and  they  received  as  canonical  one  book*  at 
least  not  there  named. 

3.  By  our  Lokd  and  his  apostles  we  find  frequent  allu- 
sions made  to  the  sacred  books  of  the  Jews,  and  under 
various  general  appellations,  as  Scripture  y^acprj,  2  Tim,  3  : 
16,  Rom.  4:  3.  Scriptures,  John  5:  39,  Mat  21:  42, 
22 :  29,  &c.  Holy  scriptures  or  writings,  uyiai  'ypa(pai, 
Rom.  1:2;  ayia  7pa^.,arx7a,  2  Tim.  3  :  15.  Word  of  God, 
Mark  7  :  13,  &c.     Oracles  of  God,  Romans  3  :  2,  &c. 

4.  We  have  apostolic  example  for  applying  similar 
names  to  the  writings  of  the  apostles : — Thus  Peter  (2  Ep. 
3 :  16)  evidently  places  the  epistles  of  Paul,  at  least,  among 
the  scriptures.  The  m^atter  of  their  jircaching,  is  repeat- 
edly called  the  word  of  God,  as  1  Thes.  2 :  13,  1  Cor. 
14 :  36,  &c.  &c. 

They  claimed  the  same  divine  authority  to  their  instruc- 
tions, which  was  the  ground  of  these  appellations,  1  Cor. 
15 :  37,  1  John  4 :  6,  &c.  &c. 

5.  Bible,  (Gr.  Ta  §j§X.a,  Lat.  Biblia,  the  little  books) 
was  a  name  in  early  use  among  Christians,  to  signify  the 
whole  collection  of  writings  received  by  them  as  sacred. 
The  title  was  so  employed  (and  as  if  in  common  use,)  by 
Chrysostom,  Jerome  and  Augustine,  before  the  close  of  the 
4th  century.  Some  indeed  have  supposed,  but  without 
good  reason,  that  Paul  uses  the  word  in  this  sense,  2  Tim- 
othy 4:  13. 


^Revelation. 


The  name  Bible,  as  well  as  scriptures,  appears  to  have 
been  given  to  the  sacred  canon  by  way  of  eminence,  as 
above  all  other  books  or  writings  these  deserve  the  name.* 

6.  The  scriptm-es  peculiar  to  themselves,  Christians  have 
denominated  the  New  Testament : — Whilst  those  they 
have  received  from  the  Jews,  they  call  the  Old  Testament. 

7.  This  distinction  was  in  early  use  among  Christian 
writers,!  and  was  probably  derived  from  Paul  himself. 
The  apostle,  in  contrasting  the  Jewish  and  Christian  dis- 
pensations, speaks  of  the  latter  under  the  name  xcsjvti 
SiaQrixr]  the  new  testament  or  covenant,  (2  Cor.  3 :  6,) 
and  soon  after  (v.  14)  uses  the  terms  rtaXam  6\a^n-Kr\  to 
indicate  the  written  records  of  the  Jewish  dispensation. 
This  apostolic  example  would  naturally  lead  Christians  to 
apply  the  names  Old  and  Meio  Testaments  or  covenants, 
to  the  sacred  books  which  were  respectively  connected 
with  these  dispensations. 

8.  The  different  dispensations  seem  more  appropriately 
called  covenants  than  testaments  of  God,  who,  ever  living, 
makes  grants  of  favor  by  covenant  or  'prorrdse,  and  not  by 
testameiit  or  idUL  Nor  is  it  easy  to  see  how  (5i«^>jx'i^  in 
the  sense  of  testament,  can  be  applied  to  the  ancient  dis- 
pensation. But  regarding  gospel  blessings  as  resulting 
from  the  death  of  Christ,  and  as  his  legacy  to  believers, 
the  new  dispensation  might  appropriately  be  called  the 
testarnent  of  Christ.  Som.e  have  accordingly  made  this  to 
be  one  point  of  distinction  between  the  Mosaic  and  Chris- 
tian economies,  that  the  former  has  the  nature  of  a  cove- 
nant only,  the  latter  both  of  a  covenant  and  testament, 
appealing  to  Heb.  9:   11 — 21,  as  confirming  this  view. 


*  Analogous  to  this  is  "Alcoran"  or  '•  The  Koran,"  the  name  given 
by  the  Mahometans  to  their  Bible.  It  signifies  '-  The  reading,"  or 
rather  ''  that  which  ought  to  be  read."  (Sale's  Koran  I.  74.)  So  the 
Jews   call  the  collection   of  the   sacred  books    Jj^'^p)^    "reading," 

(probably  from  the  nse  of  the  word,  Neh.  8  :  8.)  So  also  Zend-Avesta 
the  Bible  of  ancient  Persians  :  Avesta  signifies  "  The  word,"  Zend 
indicating  the  language. 

f  As  early  as  in  the  2d  century  the  Latin  word  testamenhim,  was  so 
employed,  but  the  earliest  example  of  xaiv^  6iOL&'/]Xt]  to  denote  the 
writings  of  the  New  Testament  is  found  in  Origen.  We  cannot  well 
doubt,  however,  that  the  Greek  usage  was  as  early  as  the  Latin.  See 
Michaelis'  Int.  (Marsh)  I.  343. 


But  as  a  term  to  be  applied  alike  to  the  books  of  either 
dispensation,  covenant  seems  evidently  the  most  appro- 
priate. 

9.  The  prevalence  among  Christians  of  the  term  Testa- 
ment may  be  accomited  for  as  follows  : 

(1.)  Aia^vjxy],  although  in  classic  usage  it  generally  sig- 
nifies testament  or  will,  was  uniformly  employed  by  the 
LXX  to  translate  the  Hebrew  word  which  signifies  cove- 
nant or  promise.*  So  the  covenant  made  by  God  with 
Israel  is  called  ^'^'nl^ — ^^^  ^1^^  written  law  or  terms  of 
this  covenant  n***!^*!  "^SD?  the  book  of  the  covenant ;  in 
the  LXX,  (5ja^/)3<v)  and  /3(/iX(ov  Sia'h-rjxr,^  (Exod.  24  :  7.) 

(2.)  The  old  latin  version,  following  the  more  usual 
sense  of  the  Greek  word,  adopted  "testamentum"  as  the 
xondering  of  ^^1^  and  Sia^-nyc^,  even  where  the  sense 
most  evidently  called  for  "pactum"  or  "foedus." 

(3.)  From'this  version  (i.  e.  O.  L.)  the  title  testajnenfum 
as  referring  to  the  sacred  books  was  adopted  by  the  early 
Latin  fathers,  and  continued  by  subsequent  ecclesiastical 
writers,  and  these  have  been  followed  in  our  English  ver- 
sion, and  in  most  of  modern  translations.! 


LECTURE   IL 


1.  The  contents  of  the  Pentateuch,  both  as  to  its  histori- 
cal details,  and  its  civil  and  religious  laws,  were  known 
and  referred  to,  in  every  subsequent  age,  as  the  Law  of  Je- 
hovah— ^the  law,  and  the  book  of  Moses.  Nor  is  there  any 
good  ground  to  suspect  that,  in  these  titles,  allusion  was 
made  to  other  history  or  code,  oral  or  written,  than 
that  which  is  found  in  our  present  Pentateuch.  This  may 
therefore  be  safely  regarded  the  original  form  of  the  record 
of  the  Jewish  law. 


*"  Suv^rixTi  is  the  more  appropriate  word  in  classic  use  to  signify 
covenant. 

fTnstead  of  testamentum,  Latin  writers  sometimes  use  the  word 
instmmcntuni,  (charter,  record.)  The  term  is  repeatedly  used  in  refer* 
eticc  both  to  Jewish  and  Christian  scriptures,  by  TertuUian,  the  most 
ancient  Latin  Christian  writer  still  extant.     (A.  D.  200.) 


p.  S.  The  Pentateuch  however,  originally,  it  is  bellcYed, 
constituted  hut  one  book. 

See  Jahn's  Introd.  to  0.  T.  pp.  185—189  ;  Stuart  in  Bib.  Repos.  vol. 
IL  689  ;  Graves  on  Pentateuch,  Lect.  I  ;  Faber's  Horsa  Mosaicae, 
sec.  2,  ch.  4. 

2.  What  measures  were  taken  from  the  first  for  preserv- 
ing the  IMosaic  writings,  may  be  seen,  Deut.  31 :  24 — 26. 

3.  Beyond  the  knowledge  which  could  be  acquired  by 
the  public  reading  of  the  law  to  the  assembled  people  on 
the  feast  of  tabernacles  every  sabbatical  year*, — the  priests 
and  Levites  would  find  copies  of  the  law  indispensable  for 
their  direction  in  the  many  duties  so  minutely  prescribed  in 
the  religious  service  ; — all  public  officers  would  need  them 
for  guidance  in  their  official  conduct ; — and  every  Jewish 
father,  rightly  disposed,  could  not  but  desire  the  best  means 
of  himself  knowing  those  subjects  which  he  was  required 
diligently  to  teach  to  his  children,  Deut.  6  :  7,   11:   19. — 
Besides,'it  is  expressly  provided,  that  when  regal  govern- 
ment should  be  established,  the  king,  on  coming  to  his 
throne,  should  write  him  a  copy  of  the  law  in  a  book,  out 
of  that  which  is  before  the  priests  the  levites  (Deut.  17 : 
18), — and  the  reasons  assigned  are  such  as  shew  the  expe- 
diency of  every  ruler's  possessing  a  copy  of  the  law. 

4.  Epiphanius,  of  the  4th  century,  (by  birth  a  Jew,)  bish- 
op of  Salamis,  records  a  Jewish  tradition  that  all  their  sa- 
cred books  were  put  by  the  side  of  the  ark.     The  thing 
seems  in  itself  probable,  and  this  probability  is  greatly  in-  , 
creased  by  the  following  facts.     After  the  solemn  instruc- 
tions given  by  Joshua  to  the  people  just  before  his  death,  it 
is  declared,  "Joshua  WTote  these  w^ords,  in  the  book  of  the 
law  of  God,"  (Josh.  24  :  26) — and  it  is  recorded  of  Samu- 
el, that  he  "  told  the  people  the  manner  of  the  kingdom, 
and  wrote  it  in  a  book,  and  laid  it  up  before  the  Lord," 
(1  Sam.  10:  25.) 

5.  For  what  we  are  told  of  the  temple  copy  in  the  time 
of  Josiah,  see  2  Kings  22  :  28,  &c.;  2  Chron.  34  :  14,  &c. 

That  the  book  found,  was  the  autograph,  is  argued  by 
Kennicott,  from  the  peculiar  phraseolog}',  2  Chron.  34 :  14, 
''the  book  of  the  law  of  the  Lord,  hy  the  hand  of  Moses /^  t 

*Deut.  31  :  10—13. 

t  So  expressed  in  Hebrew,  though  it  does  not  appear  in  our  version. 

1* 


the  law  being  elsewhere  cited  only  as  the  book — or,  the 
law — or,  the  book  of  the  law  of  Moses — or,  of  the  Lord. 

No  evidence  appears  from  the  record  that  the  book  was 
found  in  the  rubbish  of  the  temple.  Graves*  supposes  it  to 
have  been  found  in  its  proper  place.  If  it  had  been  remo- 
ved there  is  nothing  to  determine  whether  it  had  been  done 
for  its  security  or  in  contempt,  by  causualty  or  design. 

6.  We  have  no  satisfactory  evidence  what  became  of 
the  temple  copy  at  the  captivity,  w^hether  it  was  then  de- 
stroyed ;  or  preserved  among  the  people ;  or  taken  with 
the  sacred  vessels  of  the  temple,  and  with  them  returned  at 
the  restoration. 

7.  Daniel  had  a  copy  of  the  scriptures  at  Babylon,  for 
he  tells  us  that  he  "understood  by  books  the  number  of  the 
years  whereof  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  Jeremiah  the 
prophet,  that  he  would  accomplish  70  years  in  the  tlesola- 
tions  of  Jerusalem,"  (Dan.  9:2);  and  repeatedly  speaks 
of  what  is  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  (9 :   11 — 13.) 

In  the  6tli  chapter  of  Ezra  it  is  said  that  on  finishing  the 
temple  in  the  6th  year  of  Darius,  the  priests  and  Levites 
were  set  in  their  several  divisions  and  courses  "as  it  is 
written  in  the  book  of  Moses,"  and  this  was  near  60  years 
before  Ezra  came  to  Jerusalem. 

In  Neh.  8,  the  assembled  people  asked  Ezra  "to  bring 
the  book  of  the  law  of  Moses  which  the  Lord  had  com- 
manded Israel,"  and  he  brought  and  read  it  to  them. 

From  these  and  other  passages  that  might  be  added,  it  is 
evident  that  the  Jewish  scriptures  were  not  lost  in  the  cap- 
tivity ;  and  that  there  is  no  good  ground  for  the  opinion, 
adopted  by  several  of  the  christian  fathers,!  that  Ezra  was 
inspired  to  Avrite  them  all  anew — an  opinion  that  appears 
to  have  no  better  authority  than  2d  Apocryphal  Esch-as, 
eh.  14.t 

8.  It  has  been  a  common  opinion  that  Ezra  was  largely 
concerned  in  settling  the  canon,§  and  that  in  this  service, 
he — 


*Vol.  I,  p.  22. 

flrenaeus,  Tertullian,  Clemens  A1.  Basil,  Jerome,  Austin,Chrysostom, 
Theodoret,  &c.     See  Prideaux,  Schmidt. 

tPrideaux  Pt.  1,  Book  5  :  Leland's  View,  vol.  2,  314—319;  Faber's 
Hor.  Mos.  I,  307. 

^A  tradition  found  2  Mac.  2 :  13^  ascribes  it  to  Nehemiah. 


>     1.  Corrected  the  errors  which  had  crept  into  copies. 

2.  Collected  and  arranged  the  books,  and  settled  the  ca- 
non for  his  time  ; 

3.  Added  throughout  in  his  revision  what  was  requisite 
for  illustrating,  connecting  and  completing  them ; 

4.  Changed  obsolete  for  modern  names  of  many  places ; 
and — 

5.  Adopted  the  Chaldee  in  place  of  the  old  Hebrew  or 
Samaritan  character.* 

That  Ezra  with  the  cotemporary  prophets,  in  his  labors 
to  restore  the  Jewish  polity  and  worship,  would  pay  par- 
ticular attention  to  a  due  supply  of  their  sacred  scriptures, 
seems  highly  probable — but  what  he  actually  performed  in 
this  matter  we  have  no  evidence  of  a  date  and  character  to 
enable  us  with  confidence  to  decide.  As  to  the  change  of 
the  character  from  the  old  Hebrew  to  the  modern  letters, 
recent  critics  are  much  divided  both  as  to  the  time  and  the 
manner. 

9.  The  Great  Synagogue,  the  Jews  tell  us,  was  a  con- 
vention consisting  of  120  men,  who  lived  all  at  the  same 
time  mider  the  presidency  of  Ezra,  aiding  him  to  restore 
the  due  observance  of  the  Jew^ish  law,  and  to  collect  and 
publish  a  correct  edition  of  the  holy  scriptures.  Among 
the  men  of  this  synagogue  they  reckon  Daniel  and  his 
three  friends,  Shadrach,  Meshach  and  Abednego,  as  the  ■ 
first,  adding  Nehemiah  and  the  prophets  Haggai,  Zechariah 
and  Malachi,  and  finally  Simon  the  Just.f 

10.  From  the  last  notice  given  of  Daniel  in  the  scrip- 
tures, to  the  time  of  Simon  the  Just,  was  a  period  of  250 
years.  The  men  of  whom  they  constitute  the  Great  Syna- 
gogue could  not  therefore  have  been  cotemporary.J 

So  much  of  truth  has  however  been  usually  ascribed  to 
this  account,  as  that  Ezra  and  his  distinguished  and  pious 
cotemporaries  commenced  the  service  attributed  to  tho 
Great  Synagogue,  that  it  was  continued  by  others  who 
succeeded,  and  w^as  finished  by  Simon  the  Just. 


*See  Calmet's  Diet.  ''Esdras"  Prideaux  P.  I.  Book  5. 

fSee  Prideaux  Anno  426,  Alex'r.  on  Can.,  Jahn's  Intr.  p.  45,  Cal- 
met's Diet. 

:j:Neither  Josephus  nor  Philo  make  any  mention  of  the  Great  Syna- 
gogue.   It  is  first  mentioned  in  the  Tahuud. 


1  Tty 


11.  The  two  books  of  Chronicles,  that  of  Ezra,  and  of 
Esther,  have  been  commonly  supposed  to  have  proceeded 
from  Ezra  himself.  The  book  of  Nehemiah,  and  that  of 
Malachi,  (whom  many  Jews  and  Christians  have  regarded 
as  Ezra  himself,)  may  have  been  written  while  he  yet 
lived.  The  only  portions  necessarily  written  subsequent  to 
Ezra's  time,  seem  to  be  the  genealogy  of  the  sons  of  Ze- 
rubbabel,  in  3d  ch.  of  1  Chron.,  carried  down  to  about  the 
time  of  Alexander  tlie  Great ;  and  in  Neh.  12 :  22,  men- 
tion is  supposed  to  be  made  of  the  same  Jaddua,  who  was 
high  priest  in  Alexander's  tune.  These  are  regarded  as 
subsequent  interpolations. 

Simon,  for  his  piety,  distinguished  by  the  Jews  with  the 
surname  of  "the  Just,"  became  high  priest  B.  C.  300  years' 
and  lived  in  that  office  nine  years. 


* 


LECTURE  III. 

1.  That  the  canon  of  Jewish  scriptures  was  fixed  as  ear- 
ly as  the  time  of  Simon  the  Just  may  be  argued, 

(1.)  From  the  fact  that  none  of  its  books  bear  marks  ot 
later  date. 

(2.)  Some  books,  of  somewhat  later  date,  but  sufficient- 
ly plausible,  (e.  g.  Ecclesiasticus  and  Maccabees,)  although 
much  esteemed,  were  never  admitted  by  the  Jews  to  rank 
with  their  sacred  writings. 

(3.)  The  LXX  version,  which  is  believed  on  good 
grounds  to  have  been  made,  as  to  the  Pentateuch  about 
20  years  after  the  death  of  Simon  the  Just,  and  which  as 
to  the  whole  of  the  books  was  not  long  after  completed,! — 
appears  to  have  comprised  the  very  same  booksj  as  those 
which  the  Jews  have  uniformly  acknowledged  in  later  times. 

*Prideaux  Anno  300. 

"t  The  translator  of  Ecclesiasticus  (who  is  thought  hy  Pricleaux  to 
fix  the  date  of  his  writing  to  B.  C.  132)  in  his  prologue  speaks  of  the 
Greek  translation  of  "  the  Law  and  the  prophets  and  of  the  rest  of  the 
books,"  as  of  a  thing  then  extant  and  well  known  to  his  readers.  Jahn 
by  a  different  explanation  of  the  hints  in  the  prologue,  places  its  date 
between  246  and  221  B.  C. 

X  On  this  point  the  testimony  of  Jerome  is  full.     Schmid  p.  230. — 
(Knapp's  Theol.  I.  83.)    (Storr  and  Flatt  I.  262.) 


2.  It  has  been  a  uniform  opinion  among  the  Jews  that 
a  standard  copy  of  their  sacred  books  wa>s  rehgioiisly  kept 
by  the  high-priest,  deposited  in  the  temple.*  The  opinion, 
highly  probable  in  itself,  is  corroborated  by  the  fact,  that 
when  the  temple  was  finally  destroyed  on  the  taking  of 
Jerusalem  by  Titus,  the  Jewish  law  (or  sacred  volume) 
was  among  the  spoils  of  the  temple  which  were  carried  in 
procession  at  the  triumph  awarded  to  Titus  and  Vespasian. 
This  cii'cumstance  is  mentioned  by  Josephus  who  minutely 
describes  the  triumph,  and  his  testimony  is  confirmed  by 
the  figures  of  the  temple  spoils  found  on  the  trimnphai 
arch,  a  considerable  part  of  which  remains. 

But  the  preservation  of  the  Jewish  scriptures  by  no 
means  depended  on  that  of  a  temple-copy.  After  the 
captivity  there  was  no  general  defection  of  the  people  to 
idolatry,  but  in  the  midst  of  persecution  there  was  evi- 
denced a  zeal  for  their  national  relioion.  Synao;o8:ues 
were  maintained  tmoughout  the  land  where  the  scriptures 
were  statedly  read  every  sabbath  :  and  every  ^synagogue 
whether  Hebrew  or  Hellenistic  must  have  possessed  a 
copy.  Lessons  from  the  prophets  as  well  as  from  the  law 
\vere  read  in  the  time  of  our  Lord  and  his  apostles,f  and 
doubtless  long  before.!  The  existence  of  scribes  and  of 
la\\^'ers,  of  opposing  Jewish  sects  and  schools,  all  goes  to 
exhibit  the  evidence  and  means  of  the  preservation  of  their 
sacred  books. 

3.  Our  Lord  and  his  apostles  in  all  their  reproofs  never 
charge  the  Jev/s  with  corrupting  the  sacred  text,  but  con- 
tinually appeal  to  their  acknowledged  scriptures  to  sustain 
their  own  doctrines  and  claims,  and  explicitly  admit  the 
inspiration  and  authority  of  those  writings. 

4.  Whilst  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  admit  the  divine 
authority  of  the  Jewish  scriptures  as  a  whole,  w^e  also  find 
them  furnishing  important  testunony  to  the  several  paiis. 

Our  Lord  intimates  a  three-fold  division  of  these  sacred 
books,  viz  :  the  law  of  Moses,  the  prophets  and  the  psalms, 
Luke  24 ;  44,  a  division  which  we  shall  presently  see  was 
common  amxOng  the  Jews.     But  further  : 


*  Josephus  Ant.  V.  1. 

t  See  Acts  13,  15,  and  compare  Luke  4,  16 — 20  with  Acts  IS-^Sl, 

\.ThQ  Jews  say,  from  the  persecution  b\'  Antiochus. 


10 

Direct  quotations  are  made  in  the  New  Testament  from 
every  book  of  the  Old  Testament  as  sacred  scripture,  ex- 
cept from  Judges,  Ruth,  2  Kings,  1,  2  Chron.,  Ezra,  Ne- 
hemiah,  Esther,  Ecclesiastes,  song  of  Sol.,  Lament.,  Ezekiel, 
Dan.,  Obadiah,  Jonah,  Nahum  and  Zephaniah.  And  to 
the  contents  of  all  these,  distinct  reference  is  made  ex- 
cept to  Pvuth,  Ezra,  song  of  Solomon,  Obadiah  and  Zeph- 
aniah. 

And  if  we  should  reckon  the  books  after  the  manner 
then  prevalent  among  the  Jews  (as  will  soon  appear,)  eve- 
ry book  is  quoted  or  referred  to  in  the  New  Testament, 
except  the  song  of  Solomon. 

Nor  do  we  find  such  appeal  to  any  wTitings  as  sacred, 
except  to  those  now  contained  in  the  Old  Testament  scrip- 
tm'es. 

The  LXX,  as  has  been  already  remarked,  extended  to 
all  the  books  of  the  Jewish  canon  as  now  received,  and 
comprised  none  beside.  It  was  used  by  the  writers  of  the 
New  Testament. 

The  Taro-mns  of  Onkelos  on  the  law,  and  Jonathan  on 
the  prophets,  by  some  placed  before,  by  others  after  the 
time  of  our  Lord,  exhibit  a  Chaldee  version  of  the  Penta- 
teuch,— of  Joshua,  Judges,  1  and  2  Samuel,  1  and  2  Kings, 
Isaiah,  Jer.  Ezekiel,  and  the  12  minor  prophets. 

The  translator  of  Eccle-siasticus,  written  by  his  grand- 
father Jesus,  alludes  evidently  in  his  prologue  to  a  three- 
fold division  of  the  Jewish  scriptures,  when  he  speaks  of 
what  had  been  delivered  to  them  "  by  the  law  and  the 
prophets,  and  by  others  who  have  followed  their  steps," — - 
and  again  refers  to  the  sacred  writings,  as  "  the  law,  the 
prophets  and  the  rest  of  the  books ;" — nor  can  any  one, 
who  reads  chapters  45 — 49,  avoid  seeing  that  most  of  the 
books  of  the  Old  Testament  were  found  in  the  author's 
canon, — nor  is  there  any  trace  that  he  received  other  than 
these. 

Philo,  who  was  cotemporary  with  our  Lord,  divides  "  the 
sacred  writings"  of  the  Jews  into  three  classes, — "  The 
laws,"  "  the  oracles  delivered  by  prophets,"  "  hymns,  and 
so  forth,  by  which  knowledge  and  piety  are  promoted." — 
And  in  his  citations  he  adduces  most  of  the  books  of  the 
present  canon,  and  none  else. 


11 

Josephus,  the  historian,  who  closely  followed  the  time  of 
our  Lord,  explicitly  quotes  as  sacred  books  of  his  nation, 
"  The  five  books  of  Moses,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  Dan- 
iel, Jonah,  Nahum,  Haggai,  Zechariah,  Joshua,  books  of 
Kings,  and  the  Psalms.  He  also  cites  without  specifying 
their  sacred  character.  Lamentations,  Judges,  Ruth,  books 
of  Samuel,  Chronicles,  Ezra,  Nehemiah  and  Esther.  He 
makes  no  mention  of  Job ;  nor  of  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes, 
or  the  song  of  Solomon  : — he  names  Solomon,  however,  as 
a  writer.  He  neither  quotes  or  refers  to  any  as  sacred 
writings  except  what  are  in  the  present  Jewish  canon  : 
nor  does  he  exclude  any  there  found. 

But  Josephus  furnishes  other  important  testimony  :  In 
his  work  against  Apion  (L.  1,  §7,  8,)  he  says  : — "  The 
number  of  om^  books  is  only  22.  To  these  22  books,  be- 
long the  five  books  of  Moses,  W'hich  describe  the  origin  of 
the  human  family  and  their  whole  history  until  the  death 
of  I\Ioses.  The  prophets  after  Moses  have,  in  thhteen 
books,  recorded  the  history  of  their  own  times  from  the 
death  of  Moses  until  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes,  the  Persian 
monarch  who  succeeded  Xerxes.  The  remaining  four 
books  contain  hymns  of  praise  to  God,  and  practical  pre- 
cepts for  the  government  of  men." 

Here,  in  addition  to  the  three-fold  division  referred  to  by 
our  Lord,  and  recognized  by  Siracides  and  by  Philo  ;  we 
find  that  Josephus  comprises  all  the  sacred  books  of  his 
countrymen  in  the  number  of  22.  He  does  not,  however, 
specify  the  several  books — but  leaves  us  to  other  soui'ces, 
which  happily  furnish  us  the  requisite  relief. 

The  modern  Jews  comprise  the  scriptures  of  their  canon 
in  24  books,  a  number  which  they  have  retained  ever  since 
the  publication  of  their  Talmud.  But  w^e  have  the  evi- 
dence of  Origen  in  the  beginning  of  the  3d  century  that  all 
our  books  of  the  Old  Testament  were  then  reckoned  as  22. 
Jerome  in  the  beginning  of  the  5th  century  comprises  them 
all  under  three  classes  in  the  same  number,  but  informs  us 
that  some  at  that  time,  by  counting  Ruth  and  Lamenta- 
tions as  distinct  books,  made  their  smn  24.  And  Rufinus, 
cotemporary  with  Jerome,  gives  the  same  amount  of  books 
wdth  Josephus,  and  seems  to  follow  the  same  order  and 
classification. 


12 

To  shew  at  once  in  what  manner  our  39  books  were  re- 
duced to  22,  and  the  coincidence  of  Rufinus  with  the  Jew- 
ish historian,  the  catalogue  of  the  former  is  here  exhibited 
in  fulL 

Professing  to  give  a  precise  enumeration  of  the  sacred 
books  dehvered  to  the  churches  of  Christ,  as  taught  by  the 
fathers,  he  says,  "Of  the  O.  T.  first  of  all  have  been  trans- 
mitted [1 — 5]  five  books  of  Moses,  Genesis,  Exodus,  Levit- 
icus, Numbers,  Deuteronomy  :  next  to  these  [6]  Joshua, 
[7]  Judges  with  Ruth,*  [8,  9]  :  next  four  books  of  Kings, 
which  the  Hebrews  reckon  two  :  [  10]  Chronicles,  which  is 
called  the  book  of  days:  and  [11]  two  books  of  Ezra,t 
which  with  them  are  reckoned  but  one  :  and  [  12]  Esther. 
But  of  the  prophets  [13]  Isaiah,  [14]  Jeremiah,t  [15]  Eze- 
kiel,  and  [16]  Daniel.  Besides  [17]  one  book  of  12  pro- 
phets :§  [18]  Job  also,  and  [19]  the  Psalms  of  Da^^d  are 
one  book.  But  of  Solomon  three  have  been  transmitted  to 
the  churches  :  [20]  Proverbs,  [21]  Ecclesiastes,  [22]  the 
Song  of  Songs.  In  these  they  comprised  the  nmnber  of 
the  books  of  the  Old  Testament." 

On  a  review  of  the  testimony  produced  above,  there 
seems  no  ground  for  rational  doubt ;  and  w^e  m.ay  safely 
conclude  that  the  scriptures  of  the  Jews  in  the  time  of  our 
Lord  contained  precisely  the  same  books  which  now  com- 
pose the  Old  Testament,  and  that  we  have  the  unquestion- 
able authority  of  Christ  and  his  apostles  to  receive  them  as 
divine.|| 

5.  The  extensive  spread  of  these  books  into  distant 
countries,  among  Jews  and  christians,  since  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel,  the  different  versions  into  various  languages 
which  were  made,  rendered  wilful  important  changes,  with- 
out extensive  concert,  utterly  impracticable ;  and  the  great 

*  Jerome  also  testifies  that  these  two  were  counted  one  book. 

f  I.  e.  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  which  were  anciently  reckoned  one  ; 
as  they  still  are  by  the  Jews. 

^iLamentations,  Jerome  informs  us,  'was  united  with  the  book  of 
Jeremiah. 

^  Still  so  reckoned  by  the  Jews,  and  the  practice  seemed  to  have 
been  as  early  as  the  composition  of  Ecclesiasticus,  (see  ch.  49  :  iO.) 

II  On  the  process  here  pursued  for  settling  the  O.  T.  canon,  see  Jahn 
(Intro.  ^  27)  ;  Knapp  (^  4)  ;  Storr  (Bib.  Th.  §  13)  ;  Eichorn  (on  the 
canon  of  O.  T.  in  Bib.  Diss.)  icQ.  Its  details  may  be  found  especial- 
ly in  the  two  last  cited  works. 


13 

diversities  of  views  and  mutual  jealousies  among  those  who 
received  these  scriptures,  made  such  concert  impoSvsible. 

The  actual  agreement,  in  all  essentials,  of  the  multiplied 
copies  and  versions  throughout  the  world,  gives  conclusive 
evidence  of  the  integrity  of  the  O.  T.  canon. 


LECTURE  IV. 


1.  The  word  apocryphal,  airox^u^oj:,  is  commonly  derived 
from  ditox^viflc^  "  to  hide,"  and  thought  to  signify  that  wri- 
tings so  called  were  of  concealed  or  uncertain  origin  ;  or 
that  on  account  of  their  spurious  and  doubtful  character 
they  were  hidden,  or  withheld  from  common  use. 

2.  The  word  was  employed  by  early  christian  writers  to 
indicate  the  3d  or  lowest  class  of  writings  offering  claims 
to  religious  regard. 

(1.)  Public,  Apostolical,  or  Canonical  writings  were 
those  received  as  the  divine  standard  of  faith  and  practice. 

(2.)  Private  or  Ecclesiastical,  might  be  read  for  instruc- 
tion of  catechumens  and  novices,  but  not  employed  by  pub- 
lic teachers  in  proof  of  doctrine. 

(3.)  Prohibited  or  Apocryphal,  were  such  as  on  account 
of  their  spurious  or  heretical  origin  were  rejected  as  unfit 
for  christian  use. 

These  distinctions,  however,  were  not  uniformly  ob- 
served.* 

3.  In  modern  use  the  name  Apocryphal  is  given  to  wri- 
tings for  which  claims  have  been  made  that  they  should  be 
received  as  sacred,  or  which  assume  the  guise  of  inspired 
books,  but  are  excluded  from  the  canon. 

4.  "  The  Apocrypha,"  as  exhibited  in  om*  English  fam- 
ily bibles,  is  composed  of  14  books  and  fragments  of  books, 
arranged  in  the  following  order,  viz :  &c. 

5.  The  Roman  Catholic  church,  by  the  decision  of  the 
council  of  Trent,  pronounces  all  of  these  books,  except  the 
books  of  Esdras  and  the  prayer  of  Manasses,  to  be  canon- 
ical and  of  equal  authority  w^ith  the  books  universally  ac- 
knowledged, denouncing  with  anathema  all  that  should  not 
acquiesce  in  this  decision. 

*  Schmid  on  Canon,  725. 


14 

The  Anglican  church,  whilst  it  does  not  receive  them  as 
of  authority  to  establish  any  doctrine,  yet  reads  themyar 
example  of  life,  and  instruction  of  manners,  appointing 
portions  of  them  for  the  public  lessons  and  offices  of  its 
worship.     Whilst 

Other  Protestant  churches  regard  them  as  mere  human 
compositions,  for  the  most  part  of  no  extraordinary  merit, 
and  possessing  no  claims  to  religious  respect. 

6.  Before  a  particular  consideration  of  each  book,  it  may 
be  w^ell  to  remark  of  them  generally, 

(1.)  Their  introduction  among  christians  seems  to  have 
been  in  consequence  of  their  being  found  connected  with 
copies  of  the  Greek  version  of  the  Jewish  scriptures  ;* — but 
how  or  when  this  connexion  originated  we  have  no  means 
of  determining.  That  they  had  been  approved  by  a  Jewish 
Sanhedrim  of  Hellenistic  Jews  at  Alexandria,  has  been  im- 
agined by  some,  but  without  evidence.  Other  books  we 
know^  to  have  been  connected  with  the  LXX  version,  for 
which  such  reason  could  not  be  plead. 

(2.)  These  books  were  written  at  times  when  Jews  and 
christians  have  been  agreed  that  prophecy  and  inspiration 
did  not  exist.  Most  of  them  it  is  admitted  were  w^ritten  be- 
tween the  time  of  Malachi  and  that  of  our  Lord  :  and  the  rest 
must  be  assigned  to  a  period  later  than  that  of  the  apostles. 
(3.)  These  books  were  never  quoted  or  referred  to  by 
our  Lord  or  the  apostles. 

(4.)  The  Jews  from  the  first  have  rejected  all  the  books 
of  the  apocrypha,  and  reproached  christians  for  adding 
them  to  the  scriptures. 

(5.)  Even  those  christians  who  receive  them  acknow- 
ledge special  difficulties  in  reconciling  them  with  them- 
selves, with  historic  fact,  or  with  the  Jewish  scriptures.  And 
hence  it  is  that  the  more  intelligent  Catholics  contend  that 
these  books  form  a  deutero-canonical  class,  for  the  full  de- 
fence of  which  they  do  not  hold  themselves  responsible.! 

*  Those,  of  course,  excepted  which  are  found  only  in  Latin. 

t  Jahn's  Int.  ^  210,  29. — (f)  Jahn,  we  are  however  told,  fell  under 
papal  censure  for  his  concessions.  Nor  can  it  well  be  seen  how  those 
who  agree  with  him  could  escape  the  anathema  of  the  Tridentine 
council. 

{X)  See  his  statement  of  difficulties  in  his  separate  consideration  of 
the  several  books.) 


15 

(6.)  These  books  are  not  found  in  any  of  the  numerous 
catalogues  of  sacred  books  furnished  by  Ecclesiastical  wri- 
ters of  the  first  4  centuries ;  nor  were  they  read  in  any  of 
the  clu'istian  churches  until  the  4th  century,  when  Jerome 
informs  us  some  of  them  were  read  "  for  example  of  life 
and  instruction  of  manners,  but  w^ere  not  applied  to  estab- 
lish any  doctrine."  And  though  subsequently  received 
with  increased  respect,  the  same  authority  w^as  never  as- 
cribed to  them  as  to  the  Old  and  New  Testament  until  the 
council  of  Trent,"*  needing  their  testimony  against  the  doc- 
trines of  the  reformation,  placed  them  all,  with  the  excep- 
tions before  noticed,  on  a  level  Avith  the  inspired  scrip- 
tures.f 

With  how  much  reason  this  w^as  done  we  can  better 
judge  after  a  particular  examination  of  the  several  books. 

7.  I.  EsDRAS. — The  time  and  author  of  this  book  are  im- 
known.  Except  the  fabulousj  story  of  the  three  competi- 
tors for  the  favor  of  Darius,  the  book  is  chiefly  a  compila- 
tion from  2  Chronicles  (xxxv,  xxxvi,)  and  from  the  books 
of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  but  contradicts  these[|  in  various 
particulars. 

N.  B.  In  the  Latin  vulgate,  i.  and  ii.  Esdras  are  called 
the  iii.  and  iv. ; — the  canonical  books  Ezra  and  Nehemiah 
being  the  i.  and  ii.  But  in  some  copies  of  the  LXX  the  i. 
of  Esdras  (probably  as  recording  prior  events)  preceded 
the  canonical  Ezra,  and  was  called  the  i.  book  of  the  priest, 
or  of  Ezra  ;  the  authentic  book  being  the  ii. 

8.  II.  Esdras. — Our  oldest  copies  are  in  the  Latin.  The 
author  personates  Ezra,  but  speaks  of  Christ§  and  his 
apostles**  so  plainly,  and  exhibits  so  many  traces  of  New- 
Testament  language  that  he  evidently  wrote  after  all  iti; 

*  A.  D.  1540. 

t  Home's  Intiod. 

I  It  is  fabulous,  though  found  also  in  Josephus,  because  it  assigns  a 
reason  for  the  Jews'  final  return  from  Babylon  altogether  different 
from  that  recorded  in  the  scriptures  ;  and,  at  the  time  assigned  for  the 
competition,  Zorobabel  was  in  Jerusalem,  and  not  a  youth,  Ezra  2  ;  2. 

!j  Comp.  Esd.  2  .  15  with  Ez.  2 :  2,  2':  48  with  Ez.  5  :  13,  4 :  43, 
46  with  6 :  1,  4  :  44,  57,  and  6  :  18, 19  with  1 :  7—11,  5  :  40  with  Neh, 
8  :  9—10,  5  :  47,  48  with  Ez.  1 :  1—3,  &c. 

^2:  31—36,  42—48,  7  :  28—29,  13  :  1—38,  14  :  9,  15  :  6,  &c. 

**2;  18—19.  I  See  large  citations  in  Grav's  Key.  p.  538,  from 
Mat.  to  Rev. 


16 

books  were  published.  The  book  abounds  with  rabbinical 
fables  and  conceits,  with  pretended  visions  and  revelations 
most  absurd,  and  expresses  sentiments  hostile  to  the  scrip- 
tures.* Its  allusions  to  Domitianf  and  preceding  emperors 
also  confirm  its  late  origin.  It  is  first  noticed  by  Clement 
of  Alexandria,  and  there  is  no  evidence  of  its  existence  be- 
fore the  2d  century.J 

Neither  of  the  books  of  Esdras  was  received  by  the 
cx)uncil  of  Trent.|| 

9.  ToBiT. — The  evidence  of  the  existence  and  history  of 
Tobit  and  his  family  rests  on  this  book  alone.  The  narra- 
tive abounds  with  silly  tales**  seeming  to  indicate  a  rab- 
binic origin  far  later  than  the  time  assigned  to  Tobit.  The 
angel  Raphael  is  made  guilty  of  gross  falsehood  (5:  12.) 
The  chronologylf  in  several  particulars  is  at  least  very 
obscure  :  nor  is  it  probable  that  in  the  age  to  which  the 
history  belongs,  father  and  son  should  have  lived  to 
158  and  127  years,  which  is  said  of  Tobit's  father  and 
himself. 

The  book  seems  to  have  commended  itself  to  the  council 
of  Trent,  by  making  angels  intercessors  before  God  ( 12  : 
12,  15.) 

It  was  probably  written  in  Chaldee,  but  the  oldest  and 
best  copies  extant  are  the  Greek.Jt 

10.  Judith. — No  place  can  be  found  in  the  Jewish  his- 
tory for  the  events  related  in  this  book,  several  of  which 
are  at  utter  variance  with  authentic  history  of  the 
Jews  and  surrounding  nations.  The  places,  tim.es  and 
most  distinguished  persons  named,  it  is  impossible  to  ascer- 

*  The  fable  of  the  loss  of  the  scriptures,  and  of  their  restoration  is 
one  among  many  anti-scriptural  absurdities  (14  :  21,  &c.) 

t(Ch.  12.)  See  Edin,  Encyc.  under  Apocrypha:  also  Basnage  in 
Jalm's  Heb.  Com.  579—81. 

I  Storr's  opuscula  I.  34. 

II  Yet  the  Catholic  Church  have  quoted  from  2  Esd.  in  their  most 
solemn  services  (in  their  mass  for  whitsunday  ;)  and  have  made  many 
martyrs  on  its  authority,  &c.     Basnage,  Jahn,'576. 

**  E.  g.  The  demon  in  love  with  a  girl,  and  driven  away  by  the 
smoke  of  a  fish's  liver— the  killing  of  the  seven  husbands  of  Kaguel's 
daughter  by  an  evil  spirit,— the  occasion  and  cure  of  Tobit's  blindness, 
—  un  angel's  attendance  on  a  long  journey,  6cc.  &c. 

tfSee  Jahn's  Int.  <^  237. 

ti  Jahn  regards  the  Greek  as  the  original. 

p.  wS.  The  age  of  the  book  quite  uncertain. 


17 

tain.*  Various  attempts  to  explain  it  as  an  allegory  are 
unsatisfactory.f  Judith,  '^  a  godly  woman,"  is  guilty  of  re- 
peated lies  (10:  11:  12:)  and  prays  that  God  would 
"  smite,  by  the  deceit  of  her  lips,  the  prince  with  the  ser- 
vant" (9  :  10.)  She  uses  very  impure  language  (9  :  2,) 
and  highly  indeUcate  conduct  ( 12  :  15,  13  :  4,)  and  for  all 
this  is  rather  commended  (13  :   18—20,  15 :  9—10.) 

The  morality  of  this  book  would  indeed  justify  ^^  pious 

frauds,^''  and  the  sentiment  that  no  faith  is  to  he  kept  ivifh 

infidels,  that    the  goodness  of  the  end  tclll  sanctify  the 

vilest  means.     But  can  such  a  book  have  proceeded  from 

the  God  of  truth  and  holiness  1 

11.  The  rest  of  Esther. — There  is  no  reason  to  think 
that  this  ever  existed  in  Hebrew,  the  language  in  which 
was  written  the  canonical  book  to  which  it  is  appended, 
and  in  several  of  its  statements  it  is  at  variance  with  that 
book, J  or  with  historic  truth. || 

12.  Wisdom  of  Solomon. — This  book  was  highly  prais- 
ed by  some  of  the  ancients  who  styled  it  the  treasury  of  all 
virtue,  and  some  moderns  have  pronounced  it  worthy  the 
title  it  bears.  Its  author  did  not  hesitate  to  speak  in  the 
name  of  Solomon  (9:7,  8,)  but  his  book  gives  clear  proof 
that  he  was  not  the  wise  king  of  Israel.  He  speaks  of  his 
nation  as  then  held  in  subjection,  which  we  know  was  not 
the  case  in  Solomon's  days  (15:  14.)  Evident  references 
are  made  to  subsequent  scriptures,  and  quotations  of 
prophets  who  lived  long  after  Solomon.**     He  uses  ex- 

*  Prideaax  states  and  labors  to  solve  these  difficulties,  Anno  655. 
See  also  Gill's  Com.  vol.  vi.  Appendix.  Gray's  Key.  Jahn's  Int. 
^  244,  who  regards  the  difficulties  inexplicable. 

t  See  Prideaux  and  Gill  ut  supra. 

P.  S.  The  date  of  the  book  and  its  author  unknown. 

The  -'sons  of  the  Titans,"  mentioned  16:  7,  strongly  savors  of 
Heathen  fable. 

X  Comp.  11 :  2,  and  12  :  1  with  Est.  1  :  3,  and  2  :  16,  21,  11  :  3,  and 
12  :  5  with  E.St.  6  :  3,  12  :  6  with  Est.  3  :  5,  1. 

In  16  :  10,  the  king  calls  Araan  a  Macedonian,  but  in  the  true  book 
he  is  called  an  Agagite  i.  e.  an  Amalekite. 

II  Aman  is  charged  16  :  14,  with  designs  of  translating  the  kingdom 
of  the  Persians  to  the  Macedonians,  a  people  then  scarcely  known  b/ 
name  to  the  Persians,  and  of  whom  they  could  have  had  no  fear. 

**  Com.  9 :  13,  and  11 :  22  with  Is.  40  :  13,  15.  5  :  17,  18,  with  Is. 
59  :  16,  1 :  13  with  Ezck.  18 :  32,  5  :  6  with  Mai.  4  .-  2,  and  Grotius 
thought  Jesus  Christ  is  intended  2  :  12— 19,— also  7  :  2!)  compared 
with  Heb.  1 ;  3,  Col.  1  :  15,  &c  ,  aupears  to  savor  of  christian  origin, 

2* 


18 

pressions  exclusively  heathen.*  The  opinion  is  taught 
which  our  Saviour  condemned,  that  men  are  subjected  to 
affliction  in  this  life,  for  their  misconduct  in  a  previous  state 
of  being  (8  :  20  compared  with  John  9  :  3.)  He  com- 
mends celibacy,  making  marriage  sinful  (3  :  13,  14  ;)  and 
has  other  things  inconsistent  with  scripture  truth.f  The 
original  was  evidently  Greek ;  the  author  and  his  time  very 
uncertain.!  > 

13.  EccLESiASTicus. — This  book  comes  to  us  in  the 
Greek  as  a  translation  by  his  grandson  of  a  work  in  He- 
brew by  Jesus  (or  Joshua)  son  of  Sirach.  Ecclesiasticus 
is  a  title  given  it  in  the  Latin  church.  In  Greek  copies  it 
is  called  the  wisdom  of  Sirach,  or,  of  Jesus  son  of  Sirach. 
The  time  of  the  translation  is  variously  placed,  as  we  have 
seen  (Sec.  3,)  in  the  3d  and  2d  century  before  Christ.  It  is 
usually  regarded  by  far  the  best  of  the  books  of  the  apo- 
crypha :  but  it  is  offered  by  the  translator  as  merely  his 
best  effort  to  exhibit  in  Greek  a  work  entirely  distinct  from 
the  Jewish  scriptures  ;  the  result  of  his  grandfather's  study. 
But  with  many  excellent  instructions  much  in  the  manner, 
and  evidently  in  imitation  of  Solomon,  there  are  mingled 
opinions  that  do  not  accord  with  gospel  doctrine.  E.  g. 
Honoring  of  parents  and  almsgiving  he  makes  an  atone- 
ment for  sins  (3  :  3,  30  ;)  he  dissuades  from  relieving  sin- 
ners ( 12  :  4,  5  ;)  applies  to  Elijah,  the  ancient  prophet,  the 
prediction  of  Mai.  3  :  5,  which  was  fulfilled  in  John  Baptist 
(48  :   10,)  &c. 

14.  Baruch  with  Epistlp:  of  Jeremiah. — There  is  no 
room  to  doubt  that  the  writer  of  this  book  meant,  that  by 
Baruch  we  should  understand  Jeremiah's  scribe: — yet 
when,  by  this  book,  he  writes  from  Babylon  (1:  1 — 3.) 
we  have  reason  to  think  he  was  with  Jeremiah  in  Egypt 
(Jer.  43  :  5,  6,  7.)  His  book  was  read  to  Jeconiah 
at  the  river  Sud)  :  14,)  but  Jeconiah  was  in  prison,  and 
no  river  Sud  is  elsewhere  found.  His  names  of  kings  and 
the  high  priest,  ill  accord  with  historic  fact.§  There  is  no 
evidence  of  a  Hebrew  original. 

♦Such  as  "kingdom  of  Plato  or  Hades,"  1 :  14  'Ambrosia,'  19  :  21. 
1 16:  20— 22;— the  accounts  of  the  plagues  of  Egypt  (17  :  18:  19:) 
is  full  of  silly  fancies,  &c.  &:c. 

J  Jahn  thinks  the  probable  date  about  a  century  before  Christ. 
^Several  expressions  seem  evidently  derived  from  the  book  of  Daniel, 


19 

The  epistle  of  Jeremy  which  composes  the  6th  chapter, 
exhibits  nothing  of  Jeremiah  but  the  name.  Though 
probably  prompted  by  his  letter  in  29  chap,  of  his  book, 
the  thought  and  style  detect  the  imposture.* 

15.  Song  of  the  three  Children. — This  is  found  in  the 
Greek  and  Latin  versions  of  Daniel  between  our  23  and 
24  verses  of  the  3d  chapter.  Much  of  it  is  drawn  from 
148  psalm.     It  contains  things  idle  and  false.f 

16.  Story  of  Susannah. — This  is  'prefixed,  in  vulgate 
and  LXX,  to  the  book  of  Daniel ;  but  while  that  to  which 
it  is  thus  made  to  form  an  introduction  was  originally  com- 
posed in  Hebrew,  this  was  evidently  composed  originally 
in  Greek.J  It  also  contains  much  that  is  inconsistent  v/ith 
probability  and  the  authentic  book  of  Daniel. || 

17.  Story  of  Bel  and  the  Dragon. — This  has  been  ap- 
pended as  a  part  of  Daniel :  but  is  a  groundless  tale,  ex- 
hibitinp"  stran2:e  ionorance  of  Persian  affairs,**  and  incon- 
sistent  with  the  genuine  book.ff 

18.  Prayer  of  Manasses. — That  Manasseh  prayed  we 
are  told  2  Chron.  33  :  18,  19  ;  but  that  the  prayer  here 
recorded  was  ever  said  or  written  by  that  king  we  have 

which  could  not  have  existed  till  after  Baruch  was  dead  (1  ;  15,  &:c. 
fee.) 

*  The  prophet  had  repeatedly  fixed  the  period  of  captivity  to  70 
years  ;  here  he  is  made  to  i-ate  it  at  7  generations. 

t  It  says  (v.  15)  that  there  was  then  no  prophet, — but  Ezekiel  and 

Daniel,  then  exercised  their  prophetic  ministry.     The  streaming  of  the 

flame  49  cubits  above   the  furnace  (24)  seems  idle  ;  and  the  angel's 

smiting  the  flame  out  of  the  oven,  and  making  a  moist  whistling  wind 

in  it  (26,  27,)  is  botti  idle  and  opposed  to  Daniel  3 :  25. 

%  "When  one  of  the  accusers  said  he  saw  the  adultery  u'^i'o  tfp^jvov  (un- 
der a  mastich,)  Daniel  said,  the  angel  of  God  has  received  sentence 
O'p^KJ'ai  da  [i^sdov;  when  the  other  said  it  was  done  l'-tto  -TTpivov  (under  a 
holm)  Daniel  replies,  '  the  angel  waileth  ropJO'ai  ?s  f^-s^cov. 

II  The  wealth  and  splendor  of  Susanna's  husband  at  Babylon  while 
Daniel  was  a  youth,  or  near  the  beginning  of  the  captivity — Jewish 
Judges  with  power  of  life  and  death— Daniel's  assumption  of  power 
and°the  conduct  of  the  people,  &c.,  are  utterly  incredible. 

**  Cyrus,  the  Persian  would  hardly  have  worshipped  Bel  of  Baby- 
lon, and  surely  did  not  imagine  that  the  idol  ate  and  drank.  The  just 
conquered  Babylonians  could  not  have  attempted,  surely  not  succeed- 
ed by  threats  to  oblige  Cyrus  to  destroy  Daniel. 

ft  The  account  of  casting  Daniel  into  the  lion's  den  given  here  is 
full  of  absurdity,  and  does  not  suit  the  event  as  recorded  iu  Daniel— 
nor  is  it  credible  that  the  transaction  was  repealed. 


20 

no  evidence.  It  can  be  traced  to  no  higher  source  than 
the  vulgate  Latin, — nor  to  a  period  earlier  than  the  4th 
century  after  Christ.  The  sinless  purity  which  it  ascribes 
to  the  patriarchs  does  not  accord  with  their  scripture  his- 
tory.    It  was  not  admitted  by  the  council  of  Trent. 

19.  I.  Maccabees. — This  book  is  a  history  of  the  Jews 
and  especially  of  the  exploits  of  Judas  Maccabffius  and 
brothers,  from  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Antiochus  Epi- 
phanes  (of  Syria,)  to  the  death  of  Simon,  a  period  of  40 
years  (from  175  to  135  B.  C.*)  The  author  of  the  book 
is  uncertain — there  is  reason  to  think  that  it  had  a  Hebrew 
or  Syro-chaldaic  original.  It  seems  an  honest,  and  gener- 
ally an  accurate  record — the  best  history  of  that  period 
which  remains.  The  author  claims  no  inspiration,  but  in- 
timates repeatedly  that  prophecy  among  the  Jews  had  for 
some  time  ceased. f  Several  errors  are  found,  especially 
in  allusions  to  the  history  of  other  nations.! 

20.  II.  Maccabees. — The  first  part  of  the  book  (to  2  : 
18)  is  made  up  of  two  letters  from  the  Jews  of  Judea  to 
those  of  Egypt,  urging  them  to  observe  the  religious  festi- 
val of  the  dedication  of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem.  Then 
follows  a  preface  (2 :  19 — 32)  to  the  subsequent  portion, 
in  which  the  author  declares  his  design  of  giving  an  epi- 
tome of  the  5  books  of  Jason.  He  then  relates  events  in- 
troductory to  the  persecution  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes  (3 : 
5 :,)  proceeds  to  the  exploits  of  Judas  Mac.  and  concludes 
with  the  defeat  of  Nicanor,  of  which  we  also  have  an  ac- 
count I.  Mac.  7  : 

The  letters  prefixed  were  perhaps  no  part  of  the  original 
book.  The  account  in  the  second  letter  of  the  death  of 
Antioclms  is  utterly  discrepant  with  that  in  chapter  9  ; 
and  neither  accords  with  the  account  given  I.  ]\Iac.  6  :  1 — 
17.  The  same  letter  contains  statements  in.consistent  with 
our  scriptures.^     The  apparitions  and  prodigies  which  ap- 


*  The  dates  as  given  in  this  book  and  2  Mac.  appear  to  be  reckoned 
from  the  era  of  contracts  which  is  fixed  312  B.  C. 

14:   46,  9:  27,  14:   41. 

X  As  when  it  is  said  that  Alexander  the  Great  parted  his  kingdom 
among  his  officers  while  he  was  yet  alive  (1:6  ;)— iliat  all  his  offi- 
cers assumed  royal  dignity.  So  also  in  reference  to  Roman  aJxd  La- 
eedemonian  affairs.     Gill  ul  supra. 

^  E.  g.  What  he  says  of  the  deportation  of  the  Jews,  1  :   19  ;— the 


21 

pear  in  the  body  of  the  work  are  not  calculated  to  secure 
our  regard.*  Its  author  and  age  are  uncertain,  nor  do  we 
know  any  thing  of  the  v/ork  of  Jason  of  which  it  is  a  pro- 
fessed abridgment.  But  whoever  was  its  author,  he  doubt- 
less would  feel  much  surprise  at  finding  it  in  the  Bible  of 
christians,  for  in  the  conclusion  of  his  work  he  tells  us  that 
his  object  in  writing  was  the  reputation  of  pleasing  his 
readers. 

Why,  it  may  be  asked,  should  such  a  book  ever  have 
been  received  by  any  as  a  portion  of  the  canon  ? 

We  would  only  answer  that  in  one  passage  ( 12  :  43 — 
45,)  it  favors  the  practice  of  praying  for  the  dead,  and  the 
doctrine  of  Purgatory. 

21.  The  beoks  of  the  Apocrypha  are  not  without  their 
value,  as  they  increase  our  stock  of  Hellenistic  Greek,  and 
thus  cast  occasional  light  on  the  phraseology  of  scripture  : 
some  of  them  also  supply  information  on  the  history,  man- 
ners, and  opinions  of  the  Jews  and  adjacent  people  :  and 
wherever  they  exhibit  pious  and  virtuous  thought,  or  noble 
expression,  we  would  give  them,  as  to  similar  compositions 
of  fallible  men,  the  cheerful  award  of  praise.  Yet  we  can- 
not but  reprobate  the  attempt  at  imposition,  which  charac- 
terize most  of  these  writings  5  and  when  the  object  of  our 
search  is  the  divine,  unerring  rule  of  faith  and  duty, — a 
safe  guide  for  *'  example  of  life  and  instruction  of  man- 
ners,"— without  hesitation  we  may  say, 

'•'  Noil  tali  auxiliO;  nee  defensoribus  istis 
Tempus  eget." 


LECTURE  V. 


1.  Besides  the  books  of  the  Apocrypha  there  are  other 
apocryphal  writings  in  different  ways  related  to  the  Jewish 
scriptures  which  seem  to  require  some  notice. 
They  may  be  arranged  in  three  classes : 
(1.)  Such  as  are  found  in  copies  of  the  LXX. 

consecrated  fire,  1  :  19—22,  2  :  1,  4—8  :— the  tabernacle  of  Moses,  dec, 
2:  4—8. 

*  3  :  25.  s.  33,  34,  5  :  1—3,  10  :  29  s.  11 :  8—10,  lo  :  11,  ss. 

CC7*'  Suicide  is  commended  14  :  41. 

Its  original  appears  to  have  been  Greek. 


22 

(2.)  Those  elsewhere  extant,  and 

(3.)  Such  as  have  been  noticed  by  early  ecclesiastical 
writers,  but  not  preserved. 

2.  The  books  or  fragments  found  in  the  LXX,  besides 
those  already  considered  are  the  following  : 

in.  Maccabees. 

IV.  Maccabees. 

Additions  to  Job. 

151.  Psalm. 

Preface  to  Lamentations. 

3.  ni.  Maccabees. — This  is  -a  history  of  the  persecution 
of  the  Jews  in  Egypt  by  Ptolemy  Philopator.  The  events 
belong  to  a  period  before  the  name  of  Maccabees  was 
known  :  but  the  Jews  of  after-times  appear  to  have  so 
called  any  who  had  suffered  as  mart^TS  to  their  religion. 
It  was  probably  called  the  3d,  as  less  esteemed  and  per- 
haps later  composed  than  the  other  two  books.  It  abounds 
in  silly  fables.  Prideaux  and  Grotius  suppose  it  was  writ- 
ten in  Greek  by  an  Alexandrine  Jew  not  long  after  Sira- 
cides.  It  is  in  the  most  ancient  MSS.  of  the  LXX,  but 
was  never  inserted  into  the  vulgate.  It  is  mentioned  by 
no  early  Latin  father,  but  was  known  to  the  Greeks,  and 
is  named  by  Athanasius  and  Nicephorus  among  the  con- 
troverted books.* 

4.  IV.  Maccabees. — This  book  is  supposed  to  be  the 
same  with  that  "  on  the  empire  of  reason,"  ascribed  to 
Josephus  by  Philostratus,  Eusebius  and  Jerome,  and  is  com- 
monly published  in  the  works  of  Josephus,  under  the  title 
of  "The  Martyrdom  of  the  Maccabees."  Whether  it  is 
the  same  that  was  called  IV.  Maccabees  by  early  christians, 
or  was  really  written  by  Josephus,  has  been  doubted.  The 
author  has  enlarged  and  embellished  the  story  of  the  aged 
Eleazar,  and  of  the  seven  brothers  who  with  their  mother 
suffered  martyrdom,  as  told  2  Mac.  6  :  7  ;  but  varies  in  se- 
veral particulars  from  this  account  and  from  that  of  Jose- 
phus, in  his  history.  Some  fathers  seem  to  adopt  the  ac- 
count here  given,  but  the  book  lacks  evidence,  both  internal 
and  external,  to  its  truth.f 

♦  See  Prideaux,  Calmet,  Gray  and  Home. 

fSee  same  authors  as  above.     Lardner,  also,  -''Inquiry  into  the  truth 
of  the  history  of  the  seven  brethren;  vol.  5,  p  467,  2d  edition. 


23 

5.  Additions  to  Book  of  Job. — In  the  LXX  we  find  the 
following  notices  after  the  account  of  Job's  death,  viz : 
*'  But  it  is  written  that  he  shall  rise  again  along  with  those 
whom  the  Lord  raiseth  up. 

"  It  is  reported  of  him,  from  the  Syriac  copy,  that  dwell- 
ing in  the  land  of  Ausitis,  in  the  borders  of  Idumeea  and 
Arabia,  he  had  at  first  the  name  Jobab;  and  marrying  an 
Arabian  woman,  he  had  a  son  whose  name*  was  Ennon ;  but 
was  himself  a  son  of  Zareth  of  the  children  of  Esau,  and  his 
mother  Bossora  ;*  so  that  he  was  the  fifth  from  Abraham. 

"Now  these  are  the  kings  that  reigned  in  Edom,  over 
which  region  he  also  ruled.  First  Balak,  son  of  Beor,  and 
the  name  of  his  city  Dennaba ;  and  after  Balak,  Jobab,  who 
is  called  Job.  But  after  him  Assom,  who  governed  tlie  re- 
gion of  Thsemanitis  ;  and  after  him  Adad,  the  son  of  Barad, 
who  smote  Madiam  in  the  plain  of  Moab,  and  the  name  of 
his  city  Gethaim. 

"  And  the  friends  who  came  to  him,  Eliphaz,  (son  of  So- 
phan,)  of  the  children  of  Esau,  king  of  the  Thsemanites  ; 
Baldad,  (son  of  Amnon,  son  of  Chobar,)  sovereign  of  the 
Sauchceans  ;  Sophar,  king  of  the  Miiieans."f 

These  additions  are  ancient,  being  noticed  as  early  as 
the  pseudo-Aristeas  and  Philo,  but  are  evidently  maro^inal 
notes,  far  later  than  the  text.  They  are  found  in  the  Ara- 
bic version,  but  not  in  the  present  Syriac.  There  is  no  bet- 
ter ground  for  most  that  is  here  said,  than  the  presimaption 
that  Job  was  the  same  with  Jobab,  in  the  succession  of  the 
kings  of  Edom,  given  Genesis  36 :  3 1—39,  of  which  any 
one  may  be  satisfied  by  comparing  the  two  accounts.  The 
Jewish  text  and  Targum  furnish  no  trace  of  such  subscrip- 
tion. 

There  is  also  in  the  LXX,  a  speech  of  the  wife  of  Job, 
inserted  between  the  parts  of  9th  verse  of  2d  chapter,  for  the 
admission  of  which  we  have  no  further  authority,  and  whose 
matter  and  style  mark  it  as  spurious.  This  speech  in  its 
connexion  is  as  follows  : — 

"  And  his  wife  said  to  him,  how  long  wilt  thou  perse- 
vere, [saying,  behold  I  will  wait  yet  a  little  while,  expect- 

*  Perhaps  "a  woman  of  Bosra." 

fSome  variety  of  readings  is  found  in  different  copies,  and  the  Al- 
exandrine adds  some  lines  which  seem  discordant  with  the  rest. 


24 

ing  the  hope  of  my  deliverance  ?  For,  lo !  the  memorial  ot 
thee  is  perished  from  the  earth  ;  thy  sons  and  daughters, 
the  pangs  and  labors  of  my  womb,  which  in  vain  I  have 
endured  with  sorrows.  But  thyself  sittest  in  the  rottenness 
of  worms,  passing  the  night  in  the  open  air  ;  whilst  I  am 
a  wanderer  and  a  servant  going  about  from  place  to  place, 
and  from  house  to  house,  longing  for  the  setting  sun,  that 
I  may  rest  from  the  toils  and  the  besetting  griefs  that  now 
press  upon  me] ;  Reproach  the  Lord,  and  die,"* 

6.  151  Psalm. — In  most  copies  of  the  LXX,  and  in  the 
Syriac,  Arabic  and  ^thiopic  versions  there  is  found  an 
additional  psalm,  of  the  following  title  and  contents  : 

"This  Psalm,  written  by  David  himself,  and  not  included 
in  the  canon,  when  he  fought  in  single  combat  with  Goli- 
ath. 

I  w^as  little  among  my  brethren, 

And  youngest  of  my  father's  house ; 

I  fed  my  father's  sheep. 

My  hands  made  an  organ, 

My  fingers  tuned  a  psaltery — 

And  who  shall  tell  my  Lord? 

The  Lord  himself,  he  shall  hear  me. 

He  sent  forth  his  angel. 

And  took  me  from  my  father's  sheep ; 

And  anointed  me  with  the  oil  of  his  anointing. 

But  my  brethren  w^ere  fair  and  large. 

And  the  Lord  did  not  delight  in  them. 

I  went  forth  to  meet  the  stranger, 

And  he  cursed  me  by  his  idols ; 

tBut  I,  drawing  his  own  sword, 

Beheaded  him. 

And  removed  reproach  from  the  children  of  Israel." 

The  style  and  matter  of  this  piece,  so  different  from  those 
of  the  acknowledged  compositions  of  David,  leave  no  room 
for  surprise  that  no  Hebrew  original  can  be  found.| 

7.  Preface  to  Lamentations. — In  the  Greek,  Arabic, 
and  Vulgate  versions  there  is  a  brief  introduction  to  the 

♦  See  Home,  A.  Clarke,  Gray  and  Gill. 

t  Here  the  Arabic  inserts,  "  and  I  struck  him  with  three  stones  on 
his  forehead,  by  the  power  of  the  Lord,  and  felled  him." 
X  Authors  as  before. 


25 

book  of  Lamentations,  apparently  innocent  in  itself,*  but 
which  is  not  found  in  the  Hebrew,  nor  in  the  Chaldee,  nor 
in  Jerome's  version  who  followed  the  Hebrew,  and  which 
therefore  is  probably  spurious. 

It  is  this, 

"  And  it  came  to  pass  after  Israel  had  been  carried  away 
captive,  and  Jerusalem  was  become  desolate,  that  Jeremiali 
sat  weeping,  and  lamented  with  this  lamentation  over  Je- 
rusalem, and  said,"! 


LECTURE  VI. 


1.  The  apocryphal  pieces,  related  to  subjects  of  the  Old 
Testament,  which  are  still  extant,  but  not  found  in  the 
LXX,  are  the  following  : 

1.  The  testaments  of  the  12  patriarchs. 

2.  The  Psalter  of  Solomon. 

3.  The  book  or  prophecy  of  Enoch. 

4.  The  ascension  and  vision  of  Isaiah. 

2.  The  Testaments  of  the  12  Patriarchs. — -This  is  a 
book  in  which  the  12  sons  of  Jacob  are  severally  intro- 
duced speaking  their  dying  counsels,  containing  predictions 
and  admonitions  which  are  to  be  carefully  preserved  and 
transmitted  by  their  families  to  their  children.  The  au- 
thor uses  various  artifices  to  give  an  air  of  genuineness  to 
his  work,  quoting  expressly  only '  the  scripture  of  Enoch' — 
^  the  scripture  of  our  fathers' — '  the  tables  of  heaven,'  &c ; 
but  while  he  carelully  avoids  naming  any  of  the  prophets, 
he  plainly  shews,  by  frequent  allusions  to  what  they  had 
said,  that  he  was  no  stranger  to  their  writings.  He  makes 
the  patriarchs  relate  or  foretell  whatever  he  pleases.  In 
language  evidently  derived  from  the  New  Testament  we 
find  them  speaking  of  the  leading  facts  and  peculiar  doc- 
^ines  of  the  gospel,  the  character  and  conduct,  death  and 
glory  of  Christ,  of  the  imbelief  of  the  Jews,  the  consequent 


*It  would  go,  however,  to  decide  the  time  and  occasion  of  writing 
the  Lamenialions,  against  the  opinion  of  several  critics,  founded  on 
2  Chron.  35  :  25,  (and  Josephus,  Ant.  5  :  1.  See  Eichhorn  ou  Canon 
^  30.) 

f  Gray,  Blayney,  and  Gill. 

3 


36 

destruction  of  Jerusalem,  calling  of  the  gentiles,  and  nu- 
merous other  particulars  which  we  can  ascribe  only  to  a 
christian  source. 

It  is  once  quoted  by  Origen  as  uncanonical,  nor  are  there 
more  than  two  or  three  other  quotations  of  this  work  in 
all  Christian  writers  for  the  space  of  700  or  800  years.  The 
author  of  this  work  and  the  precise  time  of  its  composition 
are  unknown.  Lardner  and  others  suppose  it  was  written 
by  an  Ebionite  christian  of  the  2d  century.* 

There  had  been  several  editions  of  this  work  in  Latin, 
Avhen  Grabe  first  published  it  in  Greek,  about  the  com- 
mencement of  last  century. 

3.  The  Psalter  of  Solomon. — This  is  probably  an  at- 
tempt to  supply  some  of  the  1005  songs  of  Solomon  (1 
Kings  4:  32.)  It  comprises  18  psalms,  after  the  manner 
of  David's,  and  in  which  the  writer  has  accommodated  to 
his  purpose  parts  of  Isaiah  and  Ezekiel.  It  seems  to  have 
been  unknown  to  the  Hebrews  and  Latins  ;  and  with  the 
Greeks  it  enjoyed  little  reputation,  and  is  never  quoted  as 
scripture.  This  psalter,  however,  was  known  among  them 
in  the  early  ages  of  the  Christian  church.  It  had  a  place  in 
the  Alexandrine  MS.  at  the  end  of  the  New  Testament,  (as 
appears  from  the  index  prefixed,)  although  by  some  means 
it  has  been  lost  from  that  MS. 

The  learned  agree  in  ascribing  the  composition  to  some 
Hellenistic  Jew.f 

A  Greek  copy  Was  found  in  the  library  of  Ausburg,  and 
was  published  with  a  Latin  translation  by  De  la  Cerda 
about  the  beginning  of  the  17th  century. 

4.  Book  or  Prophecy  of  Enoch. — The  earliest  notice 
that  we  have  of  the  book  of  Enoch  is  a  quotation  made 
from  it  by  Irenseus  towards  the  close  of  the  2d  century.  It 
was  well  known  to  TertuUian  at  the  beo-innins;  of  the  3d 
century  ;  to  Origen  a  little  later ;  and  to  Anatolius,  bishop 
of  Laodicea  in  the  middle  of  the  same  period.  It  was  stilJ 
extant  in  century  8,  at  the  close  of  which,  a  long  quota- 
tion was  made  from  it  by  George,  (surnamed  Syncellus,) 
a  monk  of  Constantinople.     From  that  time  it  disappears, 

*  Lardner  I.  456—465,  III.  484,  Calraet  Schmid  314. 
t  Calmet,  Gleig's  Stackhouse  II.  229,  Breidnger's  LXX.  I.  Prolee. 
ch.  1,  <$  2.  <  - 


27 

and  all  that  was  known  of  it  at  the  close  of  last  century  is 
comprised  in  the  fragments  preserved  in  the  Chronographia 
of  Syncellus,  and  in  the  Jewish  book  Zohar. 

A  suspicion,  however,  was  entertained  early  in  the  17th 
century,  that  it  still  existed  in  Abyssinia,  but  ineffectual 
efforts  had  destroyed  all  hope  of  its  recovery,  when  the 
English  traveller,  Bruce,  actually  discovered  the  book  of 
Enoch  in  Abyssinia  written  in  Ethiopic.  He  brought  3 
copies  to  Europe  in  1774  ;  one  was  deposited  in  the  royal 
library  at  Paris,  another  in  the  Bodleian  library  at  Oxford, 
and  the  other,  contained  in  a  complete  copy  of  the  Ethio- 
pic scriptures,  in  which  it  is  placed  between  2  Kings  and 
Job,  he  reserved  for  himself.  A  translation  from  the 
Bodleian  copy  has  been  recently  published  (1821)  by 
Richard  Laurence  L.  L.  D.,  &c.,  in  an  8vo  volume  pp. 
xiviii.  and  214;  entitled  "The  book  of  Enoch  the  pro- 
phet," &c. 

This  book  of  Enoch  is  not  a  single  treatise,  but  consists 
of  several,  (variously  reckoned  7  or  9,)  and  in  this  agrees 
with  the  notices  of  'it  by  Origen  and  others.*  There  is  rea- 
son to  think  that  this  translation  restores  to  us  essentially 
the  same  book  of  which  the  Christian  fathers  spake.  It 
exhibits  the  passage  supposed  by  so  many  to  be  quoted  by 
Jude,  and  in  these  words  :  "  Behold,  he  cometh,  with 
10,000  of  his  saints,  to  execute  judgment  upon  them,  to 
destroy  the  wicked,  and  to  reprove  all  the  carnal  for  every 
thing  which  the  sinful  and  ungodly  have  done,  and  com- 
mitted against  him."  It  also  contains  passages  clearly 
parallel  with  others  in  2  Peter,  in  Jude  and  Revelation. 
What  then  are  we  to  think  of  the  book  of  Enoch  ?  If 
with  Dr.  Laurence  and  others  we  should  admit  as  fact 
that  the  apostle  Jude  really  quoted  from  this  book  of 
Enoch,  it  would  seem  difficult  for  us  to  escape  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  whole  is  both  genuine  and  inspired.  It  is  not 
a  case  similar  to  that  of  Paul's  quoting  a  sentiment  of  the 
heathen  poets,  Aratus,  Menander  or  Epimenides.  This 
book  claims  to  be  a  revelation  from  God  of  the  highest 
order,  and  ascribes  many  prophecies  and  actions  to  Enoch, 

*  See  a  sketch  of  the  divisions  and  their  several  subjects  in  Rehg. 
Mag.  iv.  396. 
fVs.  11— 15, 


28 

— how  then  can  we  imagine  that  Jiide  should  expHcitly 
quote  a  portion  of  this  record  in  confirmation  of  a  fact 
without  admitting  its  claims  ?  But  our  difficulty  is  not  con- 
fined to  the  employment  of  one  insulated  passage ;  other 
parts  of  the  book  of  Enoch,  we  are  assured,  have  clear 
marks  of  correspondence  with  passages  of  Jude,  Pe- 
ter and  John.  These  other  portions  of  the  book  would 
therefore  make  like  claim  to  the  testimony  of  these  apos- 
tles, having  been  employed  by  them  for  religious  instruc- 
tion. It  would  seem  necessary  then  either  to  admit  the 
sacred  character  of  the  book  of  Enoch,  or  to  reject  the  wri- 
tings in  which  it  is  quoted.  Tertullian  and  many  in  his 
day,  the  Abyssinian  church,  and,  it  would  seem,  some  mo- 
dern scholars,  adopt  the  former  alternative, — and  from  Je- 
rome we  learn  that  the  evidently  apocryphal  character  of 
the  book  of  Enoch  led  many  to  reject  the  epistle  of  Jude 
on  account  of  the  supposed  quotation.  But  we  are  not 
disposed  to  take  either  horn  of  the  dilemma.  The  book  of 
Enoch  we  regard  as  a  daring  forgery,  of  the  most  mis- 
chievous character,  never  seen  or  quoted  by  Jude,  nor  hav- 
ing an  existence  before  the  middle  of  the  2d  century. 

No  evidence  of  any  hook  of  Enoch  is  found  in  Jude,  nor 
in  any  ecclesiastical  writer  before  the  close  of  the  2d  cen- 
tury. Still  it  may  seem  strange  that  Irenseus,  Origen,  &c., 
should  have  received  recent  forgeries  as  books  of  ancient 
date.  Our  surprise  will  probaljly  cease  when  we  find 
Origen  reasoning  thus :  "  It  is  certain  that  many  examples 
were  alleged  by  the  apostles  or  evangelists  and  were  in- 
serted in  the  New  Testament  which  we  nowhere  read  in 
the  books  w^hich  we  hold  canonical,  but  which  are  found 
in  the  apocryphal  (or  secret)  books,  and  since  they  are 
found  only  in  the  apocryphal  books,  they  are  clearly  'proved 
to  have  been  taken  from  them."  The  same  sentiment  re- 
peatedly occurs  in  his  writings.  Add  to  this,  that  this  spe- 
cies of  writings  was  not  only  called,  but  was  supposed  to 
have  been  kept  airox^ucpa,  or  secret,  and  this  on  the  as- 
siunption  that  they  contained  hidden  wisdom  which  it  was 
not  permitted  their  authors  to  impart  to  the  profane  or  vul- 
gar.*    No  wonder  then,  that  the  book  of  Enoch  from  its 

*  See  4  Esdras  12  :  36—38,  14  -.  45,  also  the  cjose  of  the  vision  of 
Isaiah,  and  85th  of  apostolical  canons. 


1 


29 

frit  appearance  should  have  been  regarded  as  an  ancient 
work. 

Various  statements  and  opinions  which  it  contains,  also 
furnish  evidence  of  the  late  origin  we  ascribe  to  it. 

Jerome  complains  that  in  his  day,  many  apociyphal 
books  had  been  composed  on  account  of  obscure  allusions 
in  the  apostolic  writings,  and  were  employed  for  their  elu- 
cidation. And  this  we  regard  as  the  real  cause  of  the  com- 
position and  reception  of  the  book  of  Enoch. 

This  will  seem  increasingly  probable  when  we  find  that 
the  heterogenous  subjects  of  w^hich  it  treats  may  have  had 
a  common  source  from  the  epistle  of  Jude.  A  great  por- 
tion of  this  apocryphal  book  is  employed  in  dressing  up  a 
story  suggested  by  the  LXX  version  of  Gen.  6  :  2,  [But 
the  angels*  of  God,  seeing  the  daughters  of  men,  &c.]. 
Now  it  would  be  natural  that  the  author  of  the  book  should 
represent  Enoch  as  learning  from  the  angels,  especially 
when  we  ascertain  from  Eupolemus  that  there  w^as  such  a 
story  of  old  about  Enoch,  and  which  might  easily  arise 
from  the  words  of  Gen.  5  :  22 — 24,  ''Enoch  walked  with 
t^'riib^?  (rendering  this  word,  as  in  some  other  places, 
*' angels.''^)  But  we  might  well  wonder  how  the  Alexan- 
drine story  about  the  intercourse  of  angels  with  women, 
which  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  history  of  Enoch,  should 
especially  strike  the  mind  of  one  about  to  compose  the 
book  of  Enoch,  Our  wonder  ceases,  however,  when  in  the 
very  epistle  of  Jude,  whose  14th  verse  had  suggested  the 
design  of  writing  this  book,  we  find  another  passage  (v.  6, 
7)  which  may  be  so  construed  as  to  lead  to  the  thought  of 
ythat  fable,!  and  of  introducing  it  into  the  proposed  work. 
In  like  manner  the  wricked  angels  are  said,  in  this  book, 
to  have  descended  in  the  form  of  falling  "stars,"  with  man- 
ifest allusion  it  has  been  thought  to  the  "wandering  stars" 
of  Jude,  (v.  13.) 

To  conclude,  we  may  not  certainly  know  the  sources  of 


"*  It  so  reads  in  the  Alexandrine  copy. 

fin  the  expression  "Tov   o,uojov  7j57o»c:  l^orfov"  (v  7,)  if  laloii;  ^c 
made  to  refer  to  dyysXi^g  (v-  ^,)  Jude  would  say  that  Sodom  and 

Gomorrha  and  other  neighboring  cities,  committed  fornication  in  the 
same  manner  as  these  angels,  and  thus  would  seem  to  admit  and  con* 
firm  the  fable  iii  question. — (Ston's  Opusc  ill  4U5,  Marsh's  Mich.  VI.) 

3- 


30 

that  information  in  Jude,  and  those  whom  he  addressed, 
which  his  language  seems  to  imply,  but  our  difficulties  are 
only  increased  by  supposing  it  derived  from  an  apocr}^hal 
hook  of  the  character  of  this  of  Enoch.  And  we  have  lit- 
tle room  to  doubt,  that  the  book  of  Enoch  is  a  base  and 
silly  fabrication  of  an  age  subsequent  to  that  of  all  our 
sacred  books — and  of  an  age  which  we  know  was  distin- 
guished by  similar  productions.* 

5.  The  Ascension  and  the  Vision  of  Isaiah.- Apocryphal 
writings  ascribed  to  the  prophet  Isaiah,  are  mentioned  by 
Orio"en,  Epiphanius  and  Jerome,  under  the  titles  of  "the 
Apocryphal  Isaiah,"  "the  anabaticon  of  Isaiah,"  and  "the 
ascension  of  Isaiah  ;"  but  after  the  5th  century  we  find 
little  or  no  reference  made  to  them.  Cotelerius  noticed  a 
book  under  the  title,  Htfaji;  O^acfjg  in  the  Parisian  library, 
as  also  did  Sixtus  Sinensis  a  Latin  version  of  it ;  and  Theo- 
dore Petraus  quotes  an  Ethiopic  book,  "The  ascension  of 
Isaiah,"  a  translation  of  the  same. 

The  Ethiopic  translation!  of  the  ascension  and  of  the  vi- 
sion has  been  lately  discovered  and  published  in  England, 
by  Dr.  Laurence. 

The  ascension  or  anabaticon,  and  the  vision  are  two 
pieces,  furnished  with  appropriate  inscriptions,  though  inti- 
mately related,  and  proceeding  probably  from  the  same  pen. 
They  w^ere  also  comprised  anciently,  it  would  seem  under 
the  name  anabaticon,  and  have  likewise  been  regarded  as 
one  by  the  editor  and  translator.  The  contents  of  the  ana- 
baticon are  as  follows : 

King  Hezekiah,  in  the  26th  year  of  his  reign,  sends  for 
his  son  Manasseh,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  prophet  Isaiah 
delivers  to  him  in  writing  all  the  instructions  and  prophe- 
cies concerning  the  Messiah,  which  he  had  received  from 


*  The  sources  of  information  chiefly  relied  upon  in  this  article  are  a 
Review  in  the  Christian  Observer,  found  also  in  Religious  Magazine, 
vol.  4,  394—400,  and  Storr's  Opuscula  vol.  2,  pp.  399—411.  See  also 
Home's  Introd. 

f  That  this  book  though  written  in  the  western  church,  should  be 
preserved  in  the  Ethiopic,  arises  from  the  great  predilection  of  Ethiopic 
christians  for  apocryphal  writings,  which  they  scarcely  distinguish  at 
all  from  canonical  ;  glorying  in  the  fulness  and  abundance  of  their 
.sacred  books.  To  this  predilection  we  are  also  indebted,  as  we  have 
seen,  for  the  book  of  Enoch, 


31 

the  prophet,  [viz :  those  contained  in  the  2d  treatise.] 
Then  the  prophet  announced  to  him,  that  all  this  would  be 
useless,  because  Beliar  would  establish  his  throne  in  Man- 
asseh,  he  and  many  others  would  apostatize,  and  the  pro- 
phet himself,  by  Manasseh^s  order,  would  be  sawn  asun- 
der. Hezekiah,  filled  with  grief,  would  hereupon  have  or- 
dered his  son  to  death,  but  was  withheld  by  the  prophet, 
(ch.  L) 

As  soon  as  Manasseh  came  to  his  throne,  the  rule  of  Be- 
Uar  begins.  Magic  and  idolatry  w^ere  introduced,  and  the 
saints  were  banished :  in  which  were  especially  aiding 
Belkira,  Tobiah  the  Judge,  John  of  Anathoth,  &c.  The 
prophet  withdraws  to  Bethlehem,  and  thence  to  a  moun- 
tain adjacent,  and  with  him  the  prophets,  Micah,  Joel, 
Habakkuk,  [anachronism],  Joscheb,  his  son,  and  many 
saints,  (who  hoped  that  the  righteous  would  ascend  to  hea- 
ven,) where  they  led  for  two  years  an  ascetic  life.     (ch.  11.) 

Belkira,  a  false  prophet,  a  Samaritan,  now  accused  Isa- 
iah and  the  pious  prophets,  because  he  had  compared  Jeru- 
salem to  Sodom  and  Gomorrha,  and  had  pretended  to  see 
God  ;  whereon  the  king  had  him  seized.  Then  spake  Isa- 
iah this  prophecy  concerning  Christ,  III — IV  :   14. 

When  the  beloved  (a  name  often  here  given  to  Christ) 
shall  have  been  crucified  and  buried,  on  the  third  day  the 
archangel  Michael  shall  open  his  grave.  He  shall  send 
forth  his  twelve  apostles,  and  on  the  shoulders  of  seraphim 
shall  be  borne  to  the  7th  heaven.  Many  shall  then  proph- 
esy and  do  wonders  ;  but  many  shall  also  apostatize ;  ha- 
tred, avarice,  ambition,  calumny,  persecution  shall  prevail 
in  society  ;  and  there  will  be  fightings  until  his  return. 
But  then  will  Beliar,  the  king  of  this  world,  come  down  in 
the  shape  of  an  ungodly  king,  the  murderer  of  his  mother. 
The  saints  shall  be  given  into  his  hands,  and  he  shall  do 
what  he  will.  To  him  shall  offerings  be  made,  he  shall  be 
called  God,  his  image  shall  be  erected  in  all  places,  and  his 
rule  shall  last  three  years,  seven  months  and  twenty-seven 
days.  Then,  after  three  hundred  thirty-two  days,  will  the 
Lord  come  with  his  angels  from  the  7th  heaven,  and  cast 
Beliar  into  Gehenna  ;  and  then  will  follow  the  resurrection 
of  the  just,  the  destruction  of  the  world,  the  last  Judgment 
and  the  perdition  of  the  ungodly. 


32 

Enraged  by  this  prophecy,  Maiiasseh,  instigated  by  Be- 
lidr,  put  Isaiah  to  death  by  a  martyrdom  under  the  saw, 
which  he  suffered  without  shewing  any  sign  of  pain  ;  filled 
wdth  transport,  and  speaking  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Belkira, 
before  the  punishment,  offered  to  save  him,  if  he  would  say 
what  he  should  dictate,  but  the  prophet  refused."     (ch.  V.) 

The  object  of  this  piece,  which  seems  the  work  of  a  Jew- 
ish christian,  is  evidently  to  encourage  martyrdom. 

Its  date  has  been  thou2;ht  securely  determined  in  the 
prophecy.  The  ungodly  king  who  killed  his  mother,  is 
doubtless,  Nero.  The  specified  time  of  three  years,  seven 
months  and  twenty-seven  days,  may  be  the  period  from  the 
beginning  of  the  Christian  persecution,  Nov.  A.  D.  64 
(Mosheim,)  to  Nero's  death,  June,  68.  Shortly  after,  but 
before  the  lapse  of  the  three  hundred  thirty-two  days,  the 
work  must   have  been  composed.     So  argues  Laurence. 

But  as  the  writing  is  first  quoted  by  Origen,  and  as  some 
of  the  representations  here  made,  and  in  the  accompanying 
vision,  especially  the  explicit  fulness  on  the  doctrine  of  the 
trinity  seem  almost  incredible  for  an  age  well  nigh  apostol- 
ical, another  view  may  be  preferable,  which  would  allow 
its  composition  in  a  later  persecution.  Thus  we  may,  by 
the  ungodly  king,  understand  Nero,  indeed,  but  only  that 
he,  (ts  anti-christ,  shall  return  immediately  before  the  ad- 
vent of  Christ.  The  three  years,  seven  months  and 
twenty-seven  days,  may  be  the  time  of  his  anti-christian 
reign,  borrovved  by  our  Chiliast  from  the  one  thousand  three 
hundred  and  thirty-five  days  of  Daniel,  (12:  12,)  and 
make  exactly  so  many,  if  w^e  reckon  three  years,  three  hun- 
dred sixty-five  days  each ;  and  of  the  seven  months,  four  at 
thirty  and  three  at  thirty -one  days.  This  exposition  has 
in  its  favor  that  the  specified  number  is  proposed  as  the  pe- 
riod of  the  whole  rule  of  the  anti-christian  tyrant.  In  this 
case,  too,  the  book  has  a  striking  resemblance  to  that  of 
Daniel.  Here,  as  well  as  there,  the  leading  idea  is  that 
the  Messiah's  reign  would  not  begin  until  the  death  of  the 
anti-christian  king,  (there,  Antiochus  ;  here,  Nero  ;)  and 
here,  as  well  as  there,  is  this  put  into  the  mouth  of  an  an- 
cient prophet  as  a  prophecy,  whose  accompanying  history 
is  likewise  suited  to  encourage  to  martyrdom. 

The  Jewish  character  of  the  piece  is  seen  in  the  employ- 


33 

ment  of  a  Talmudlc  story, — in  making  the  false  Satanic 
accuser  a  Samaritan,  &c. 

This  piece  was  called  anabaticon,  because  the  death  of 
the  righteous  who  come  to  God,  is  called  in  it  an  ascension 
(2:  9)  ;  or  rather,  perhaps,  in  view  of  the  2d  piece  w^hich 
relates  a  real  ascension :  and  thus  gives  a  title  for  both. 

This  2d  piece  has  its  appropriate  inscription,  "  a  vision 
which  Isaiah  the  son  of  Amoz  saw  in  the  20th  year  of  the 
reign  of  Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah." 

Its  outline  is  as  follows  : 

"  In  the  20th  year  of  Hezekiah  came  Isaiah  from  Galilee 
to  Jerusalem,  where,  in  presence  of  the  king,  and  of  the 
other  prophets,  he  immediately  declared  a  revelation  in 
which  he  experienced  glorious  views  and  scarcely  seemed 
to  live,  and  thereupon  related  the  vision.  An  angel,  of  a 
glory  betbre  unseen,  but  who  does  not  tell  his  name  (7  :  3), 
carried  him  through  all  the  stages  of  the  heavens  up  into 
the  7th  and  highest.  First,  they  passed  through  the  firma- 
ment, where  they  saw  Sammael  and  all  his  hosts  engaged 
in  eternal  war  (7  :  9 — 12). — In  the  5  following  heavens^ 
which  were  as  far  from  each  other  as  heaven  from  earth, 
and  were  successively  more  and  more  bright,  he  uniformly 
saw  ano-els  on  either  hand,  the  last  more  brif^ht  than  the 
first,  gathered  round  one  who  sat  upon  a  throne.  In  the 
2d  heaven  he  w^ould  have  fallen  down  before  him,  but  his 
guide  prevented.  In  the  6th  heaven  he  found  a  splendor 
(7  :  13-37),  compared  with  which,  that  of  the  other  hea- 
vens seemed  darkness :  also  here  was  no  throne,  and  no 
distinction  of  angels.  His  guide  here  addressed  him  as  his 
associate,  and  he  sav/  that  himself,  as  well  as  he,  was  an 
angel  of  this  heaven.  He  wished  never  to  return  to  this 
dark  earth,  but  his  guide  admonished  him  that  his  time  was 
not  yet  come,  (8 :) — He  now  ascends  at  last  into  the  7th 
heaven.  There  he  found  all  the  saints,  Adam,  Abel,  Seth, 
Enoch,  &c : — there  is  shown  to  him  a  book  in  which  was 
written  the  history  of  Israel ;  and  many  robes,  thrones  and 
crowns,  designed  for  those  who  should  honor  the  cross. 

Concerning  the  Lord,  (Christ)  the  angel  told  him,  that  in 
the  latter  days  he  should  descend  to  the  earth,  there  should 
be  crucified,  should  arise,  and  then  after  545  days  (9:  16), 
with  many  saints,  should  return  into  the  7th  heaven% 


34 

He  next  saw  also  near  the  Lord,  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and 
lastly  the  Father- Lokd,  God  hhnself  (9:).  The  latter  gave 
decree  that  the  Lord  should  descend  to  earth,  and  become 
flesh.  And  now  Isaiah  saw  how  he  descended  from  heaven 
to  heaven  (10 :),  and  then  was  born  of  the  virgin  Mary. 

Of  this  the  manner  was  as  follows.  When  Mary  was 
with  child,  and  alone  with  Joseph  in  the  house,  she  sudden- 
ly saw  a  little  infant,  and  felt  that  she  was  with  child  no 
longer.  Joseph,  too,  saw  the  miracle,  but  a  voice  forbid 
him  to  declare  it,  so  that  the  people  did  not  comprehend 
how  she  had  brought  forth;  as  no  midwife  had  been  pre- 
sent, nor  cry  of  labor  heard. 

Isaiah  afterwards  saw  him  perform  miracles,  suffer  cruci- 
fixion, rise  and  return  into  the  7th  heaven." 

Thus  far  the  vision,  which  Isaiah,  in  concluding,  begged 
should  be  communicated  to  none  of  the  people. 

The  leading  object  of  this  piece  evidently  is  to  commend 
the  reward  and  glory  of  saints  and  martyrs  who  here  are 
represented  as  angels  of  the  6th  heaven.  Besides  the  de- 
scriptions, which  serve  as  the  groundwork,  there  are  some 
strange  things,  e.  g.  the  abode  of  Jesus  545  days  on  the 
earth,  and  the  story  of  his  birth.  By  the  first  it  is  not  quite 
clear  whether  is  meant  the  time  of  his  ministry,  or  the 
time  after  his  resurrection :  in  either  case,  it  is  one  of  the 
usual  contradictory  traditions.  The  latter  account  proba- 
bly owes  its  origin  to  some  apocryphal  tale,  which  perhaps 
might  be  shown  as  probable  as  that  the  holy  virgin  brought 
forth  'utero  clauso';  which,  as  is  well  known,  several 
Christian  sects  have  maintained.  The  ascension  of  the 
prophet  may  also  be  compared  with  that  of  Mahomet. 

The  above  account  is  given,  somewhat  abridged,  from 
Gesenius  on  Isaiah,  2  vol.  Introd.  69.— See  also  Home's 
Introd. 

LECTURE  VIL 

1.  It  has  been  already  intimated  that  various  apocryphal 
pieces  existed  as  early  as  the  .2d  and  3d  centuries  after 
Christ,  which  were  regarded  by  some  Christian  writers  as 
the  sources  of  various  allusions  in  the  New  Testament,  to 
matters  not  found  in  the  Jewish  Scriptures. 


^r' 


35 

Thus  Origen  mentions  the  '  assumption  and  ascension*  of 
Moses'  (whether  one  book,  or  two,  does  not  seem  clear) 
saying  that  Jude  (v.  9)  quoted  *the  ascension.'  He  further 
states  that  the  quotation  1  Cor.  2 :  9  is  only  found  in  a  secret 
book  of  the  prophet  Elijah ; — that  2  Tim.  3 :  8  is  found  in 
a  secret  book  "  Jannes  and  Jambres;"  and  suspects  that 
Mat.  27  :  9  was  derived  from  some  secret  book  of  Jeremiah. 
Jerome  mentions  "  the  little  Genesis,"  "  the  apocalypse 
of  Elijah,"  and  informs  us  that  he  was  shown  an  apocry- 
phal Jeremiah  in  Hebrew  by  a  Nazarene  Jew,  which  con- 
tained Mat.  27 :  9. 

Jerome  gives  his  opinion  that  a  great  part  of  such  apoc- 
ryphal pieces  were  the  consequence  rather  than  the  occasion 
of  the  scripture  passages  to  which  they  seemed  related, 
and  strongly  reprobates  their  fabrication  and  use.  Of  most 
of  the  above  we  know  little  beyond  the  name. 

2.  On  the  subject  of  the  temptation  of  our  first  parents 
Origen  quotes  the  ascension  of  Moses  thus:  "and  first,  in- 
deed, the  serpent  is  described  in  Genesis  as  having  seduced 
Eve ;  concerning  which,  in  the  ascension  of  Moses,  which 
book  the  apostle  Jude  notices  in  his  epistle,  Michael  the 
archangel,  disputing  with  the  devil  about  the  body  of  Moses, 
says,  that  the  serpent  possessed  by  the  devil  was  the  cause 
of  the  sin  of  Adam  and  Eve."  From  these  hints  Michaelis 
forms  this  hypothesis.  "  The  Jews  imagined,  the  person 
of  Moses  was  so  holy,  that  God  could  find  no  reason  for 
permitting  him  to  die  :  and  that  nothing  but  the  sin  com- 
mitted by  Adam  and  Eve  in  paradise,  which  brought  death 
into  the  world,  was  the  cause  why  Moses  did  not  live  for- 
ever. The  same  notions  they  entertained  of  some  other 
very  holy  persons,  for  instance  of  Isai,  who  they  say  was 
delivered  to  the  angel  of  death  merely  on  account  of  the 
sins  of  our  first  parents,  though  he  himself  did  not  deserve 
to  die.  Now  in  the  dispute  between  Michael  and  the  devil 
about  Moses,  the  devil  was  the  accuser  and  demanded  the 
death  of  Moses.  Michael  therefore  replied  to  him,  that  he 
himself  was  the  cause  of  that  sin  which,  alone,  could  occa- 
sion the  death  of  Moses."     Michaelis  adds, 


*AvaX'/]].i<:    xai    Avaxaiftg  tj5  M.  generally  considered  different 
titles  of  the  same  book. 


36 

**  Besides  the  account  given  by  Origen,  there  is  a  passage 
in  the  works  of  Oecumenius  [*]  which  Mkewise  contains  a 
part  of  the  story  related  in  the  assumption  of  Moses,  and 
which  explains  the  reason  of  the  dispute  which  St.  Jude  has 
mentioned  concerning  Moses'  body.  According  to  this 
passage,  Michael  was  employed  in  burying  Moses ;  but 
the  Devil  endeavored  to  prevent  it,  by  saying  that  he  had 
murdered  an  Egyptian,  and  was  therefore  unworthy  an 
honorable  burialf." 

How  Michaelis  would  reconcile  this  account,  which  he 
receives  as  a  part  of  the  apocryphal  story,  with  his  own 
hypothesis,  he  has  not  told  us. 

3.  For  reasons  already  assigned  in  the  speaking  of  the 
book  of  Enoch,  the  opinion  of  Origen  on  this  subject  has  no 
great  force ;  and  we  have  good  cause  to  acquiesce  in  the 
assurances  of  Lardner,  Storr,  and  others,  who  after  full 
research  accord  in  saying  that  no  evidence  appears  of  the 
existence  of  such  a  writing  as  he  quotes  before  the  2d  cen- 
tury. Our  difficulties,  in  the  interpretation  of  Jude,  require 
other  means  of  relief. 

Here  we  close  our  discussion  of  the  Apocryphal  \vritings 
related  to  the  Old  Testament. 

k  , — 

4.  Several  titles  of  writings  are  given  in  the  Jewish  canon, 
w^hich  are  no  longer  found  under  such  titles,  such  as 

The  book  of  Samuel  the  seer,  "j 

«'       "      "    Kathan  the  prophet,    I  1  Chron29 :  29,30. 
"       "      "    Gad  the  seer.  J 

«<       "       "    Jasher,  Josh.  10:  13,  2  Sam.  1:  18, 
"       •'      "    The  wars  of  the  Lord,  Num.  21:  14. 

The  prophecy  of  Ahijah  the  Shilonite,  and  the  visions  of 
Iddo  the  seer,  2  Chr.  9 :  29. 

The  book  of  Shemaiah  the  prophet  and  of  Iddo  the  seer 
concerning  genealogies,  2d  Chr.  12:  15. 

'^  Chronicles"  are  often  referred  to,  not  extant. 

SOOOprovea^s  (  spoken  by  Solomon.    iKings  4 :  32-33. 
lUv/O  sonsjSjCcc.  \ 


[♦Placed  by  Lardner  A.  D  950  ] 

t  Marsh's  Michaelis  vi.  379,  3bl.  After  fastening  this  quctaUon  on 
the  epistle  of  Jude,  Michaelis  ihiusts  it  from  the  canon  without 
ceremony. 


37 

N.  B. — There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  genuine 
^*Book  of  Jasher"  is  restored  in  that  repubHshed,  1829,  in 
England,  (See  Home's  Int.,  Appendix,  p.  63,  vol.  II,)  or 
in  the  one  which  has  more  recently  appeared  in  this 
country. 

5.  The  integrity  of  our  canon  by  no  means  is  dependant 
on  the  preservation  of  all,  or  of  any  of  the  books  thus  inci- 
dentally named  or  referred  to  by  the  sacred  writers.  See 
Alexander  on  Canon,  p.  97 — 105,  Home's  Intr.  I.  56,  &c. 


ORAL  LAW  AND  TALMUD  OF  THE  JEWS, 


1.  For  the  Jewdsh  character  of  their  "oral  law,"  their 
account  of  its  origin  and  preservation,  see  Alexander,  p. 
106,  Prideaux's  Con.  Anno  446,  Owen  on  Heb.  1 :  [95,  Al- 
ien's Modern  Judaism,  and  Enfield's  Hist,  of  Philosophy 
vol.  II. 

2.  The  Mishna — When  and  by  whom  composed,  see 
as  above. 

3.  As  to  the  contents  of  the  Mishna,  the  Jews  tell  us, 
they  were  derived  from  these  five  soiu-ces,  viz : 

(1.)  The  Oral  Law  ; 

(2.)  Oral  constitutions  of  Moses  himself,  after  he  came 
down  from  the  mount ; 

(3.)  Constitutions  and  orders  drawn  by  various  ways  of 
arguing  from  the  written  law  ; 

(4.)  Answers  and  decrees  of  the  Sanhedrim  and  other 
wise  men  of  old. 

(5.)  Immemorial  customs,  of  unknown  origin,  and 
therefore  reputed  divine.     See  Owen  on  Heb.  I.  vol. 

4.  As  to  the  form  of  the  Mishna,  see  Owen,  ut  supra  ; 
Calmet's  and  Buck's  Diet.,  Buxtorf  on  Heb.  Abbrev.,  Al- 
len's Judaism. 

4 


38 

5.  As  to  the  two  Gemaras  of  the  Jews,  their  origin,  and 
comparative  estimation,  see  Alexander,  Prideaux,  Owen, 
Allen,  &c.,  as  above. 

6.  As  to  the  materials  w^hich  constitute  these  Gemaras, 
they  may  be  referred  to  five  heads,  viz  : 

(1.)  They  expound  the  text  of  the  Mishna. 

(2.)  Decide  questions  of  right  and  fact. 

(3.)  Report  disputations,  traditions  and  constitutions  of 
the  doctors  that  had  lived  after  the  Mishna. 

(4.)  Give  strange  allegorical  expositions  of  scripture, 
and, 

(5.)  Report  stories  of  a  similar  character.  Owen  on 
Heb.  I.  97. 

7.  To  distinguish  what  many  writers  continually  con- 
found, it  is  important  to  observe,  that  the  Oral  Law  is 
interspersed  through  the  Mishna; — the  Mishna  is  the 
text,  of  which  the  Gemara  is  the  comment  and  supple- 
jnent ; — the  Talmud  is  the  Mishna  in  connexion  with  a 
Gemara. 

8.  On  the  Jewish  estimation  of  the  Talmud  in  compari- 
son with  their  scriptures,  see  the  authors  referred  to  in  §5. 

9.  For  refutation  of  Jewish  pretensions  in  regard  to  the 
Oral  Law  and  Talmud,  consult  Alexander,  Allen,  and 
"common  sense." 

10.  An  abridgment  of  the  Babylonian  Talmud  has  been 
made  by  Rabbi  Moses  Ben  Maimon,  (Rambam,*)  com- 
monly called  by  Christians,  Maimonides.  His  work  is 
entitled,  HpTH  'l^  (strong  hand,)  it  is  written  in  pure 
Hebrew,  and  in  an  easy  style,  divested  of  the  knotty  ques- 
tions and  intricate  disputes  of  the  doctors,  and  of  their  le- 
gendary fables ;  containing  nothing  but  the  traditions  of 
the  Jews,  their  rites  and  customs,  digested  in  the  best  order, 
and  forming  the  best  system  extant  of  their  canon  and  civil 


*  It  is  common  wUh  the  Jews  to  give  "names  to  their  principal  rab- 
bis, formed  from  tlie  initial  letters  of  their  several  appellations,  insert- 
ing vowels  to  aid  the  pronunciation  :  E.  g.  Rabbi  Levi  ben  Gershom, 

they  call  Ralbag  ^135*1 ;  ^'^abbi  Solomon  Jarchi,  Raschi  "i-j^j*!  ;  Rabbi 
David  Kimchi,  Radak  pTl^  ^^-  So  t:!n>2i>  for  Maimonides.  This 
latter  name  arises  from  Christians'  adopting  the  Latin  ])atronymic  ter- 
mination, instead  of  the  Hebrew  prefix  of  the  word  Ben  .-—So  Gcrso- 
nides  for  '^  ben  Gersh.ora"~Isaacides  for  •'  ben  Isaac,"  «.tc.  iVc. 


39 

law.  It  is  divided  into  four  parts,  fourteen  books,  and 
these  again  into  sections.  It  has  been  pubhshed  by  Su- 
renhusius,  with  a  Latin  version,  1  vol.  folio,  (Amsterdam, 
1689.)  *     Maimonides  lived  from  A.  D.  1131  to  1205. 


LECTURE  VIII. 


1.  The  Jews,  w^e  have  seen,  before  the  time  of  our  Lord 
reckoned  their  sacred  books  in  three  classes ;  and  in  the 
first  and  subsequent  centuries  comprised  them  all  in  22. 
This  number,  it  has  commonly  been  thought,  was  adopted 
in  reference  to  the  number  of  the  letters  of  their  alphabet. 
Subsequently  we  find,  from  their  Talmud,  and  from  other 
testimony,  that,  probably  in  the  4th  century,  they  adopted 
the  reckoning  of  24  books,  still  maintaining  3  classes. — 
Several  books  originally  of  the  2d.,  appear  however  to 
have  been  transferred  to  the  3d  class.  The  Massoretes, 
who  followed,  made  no  change  in  the  contents  of  the  sev- 
eral classes  as  exhibited  in  the  Talmud,  but  altered  the  suc- 
cession of  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel  and  Isaiah  of  the  2d,  and  adop- 
ted an  entirely  diiTerent  arrangement  of  the  books  of  the 
3d  class. 

The  modern  Jews  of  different  countries  in  Europe  have 
also  diversity  in  the  succession  of  the  books  in  the  2d  and 
3d  classes,  but  the  majorit}^  of  Hebrew  copies  pursue  the 
following  order,  viz  : 

I.  The  Law  in  5  books  which  they  call  "  the  five  fifths 
of  the  law." 

n.  The  prophets,  w^hich  they  divide  into  former  pro- 
phets, and  latter  prophets.  The  first  division  comprehends 
Joshua,  Judges,  Samuel  and  Kings.  The  second,  Isaiah, 
Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and  the  12.f  Reckoning  the  prophets, 
in  all,  8  books. 

III.  The  Hagiographa,  which  they  call  fii^^p;^  (the 
writings,)  viz  : — Psalms,  Proverbs,  Job,  Solomon's  Song, 


*  See  Alex.  110.    Home's  Int.  IL    Gill's  pref.  to  N.  T.     Allen's 
Judaism.     Buxtorf 's  Rab.  Biblioth,  &c. 
t  Th^se  minor  prophets  in  the  same  order  as  in  our  English  bible. 


40 

Ruth,  Lamentations,  Ecclesiastes,  Esther,  Daniel,  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah,  Chronicles, — 11  books. 

The  title  usually  given  by  the  Jews  to  the  whole  collecr 
tion  of  their  sacred  books  is  '  the  24.' 

2.  Solomon's  Song,  Ruth,  Lamentations,  Ecclesiastes 
and  Esther,  are  together  denominated  r\l5!^?2  ti^sn  '  the 
5  rolls,'  and  have  been  so  classed  on  account  of  their  being 
read  on  particular  festivals,  viz  :  Canticles  at  the  passover, 
Ruth  at  pentecost.  Lamentations  at  the  fast  in  July  toHiom- 
memorate  the  burning  of  the  temple,  Ecclesiastes  at  the 
feast  of  tabernacles,  and  Esther  at  the  feast  of  Purim. — 

Esther  is  often  called  nbD72n  ^  ^^^  ^'^^^Z  ^J  ^^'^J  ^^  ^^^~ 
nence. 

In  bibles  for  the  use  of  Jews  these  megilloth  are  often 
inserted  together,  immediately  after  the  Pentateuch. 

3.  The  order  in  w^hich  the  sacred  books  may  be  arranged 
is  A  matter  of  little  moment  in  itself,  but  the  Jewish  doctors 
advance  opinions  in  regard  to  the  nature  and  degrees  of 
the  inspiration  of  their  several  classes  which  we  cannot 
adopt. 

To  the  writings  of  Moses  they  ascribe  the  highest  degree 
of  inspiration,  because  God  himself  placed  him  above  all 
prophets,  as  one  with  whom  he  conversed  face  to  face. 
The  Chetubim  or  Hagiographa  they  distinguish  from  the 
Pentateuch)  by  their  not  having  been  orally  given  as  was 
the  law ; — and  from  the  'prophetic  writings  by  their  au- 
thors' having  had  no  public  mission  as  prophets,  and  their 
not  leading  the  prophetic  life,  and  by  their  having  received 
divine  instruction  by  the  immediate  suggestions  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  not  by  the  intervention  of  dreams,  visions,  &c.,  as 
were  the  oracles  of  the  prophets. 

But  it  would  be  difficult  to  show  that  David  and  Daniel 
were  no  prophets,  although  they  lived  in  courts ; — or  that 
they  received  divine  instruction  in  a  w^ay  different  from  other 
prophets.  Nor  is  any  reason  apparent  why  the  prophecies 
of  Jeremiah  should  be  in  one  class,  and  his  Lamentations 
in  another.  Admitting  the  revelation  to  be  from  Gon,  the 
mode  of  communication  cannot  affect  the  character  of  the 
thing  revealed. 

4.  The  Hebrew  names  of  the  several  books  of  the  Pen- 
tateuch are  the  first  word  or  words,  or  some  leading  word 


41 

among  the  first  of  the  book.  Lamentations  is  also  called 
by  its  first  word.  The  Hebrew  names  of  the  other  books 
generally  indicate  the  writer  or  subject,  as  in  our  English 
Bibles. 

5.  The  names  given  to  the  different  books  of  Moses  in 
our  common  version  have  been  derived  from  the  Septuagint. 

6.  The  Jewish  Pentateuch  is  divided  into  54  sections, 
called  tTiitrilS  oiie  of  which  is  read  in  the  synagogue  every 
Sabbath.  The  reading  of  the  law  is  thus  completed  in  the 
course  of  the  year,  which  by  the  Jewish  computation  va- 
ries from  55  to  50  weeks :  as  the  case  may  require,  they 
occasionally  unite  2  sections  for  the  lesson  of  one  day, 
and  repeat  or  divide  a  section  that  the  whole  law  may  al- 
ways be  completed  within  the  year.  This  custom  is  ancient, 
and  has  usually  been  ascribed  to  Ezra. 

7.  Besides  the  section  from  the  law  the  Jews  in  their 
synagogue  service  have,  as  a  second  lesson,  a  portion  selec- 
ted from  the  prophets,  analogous  in  subject  to  that  of  the 
law.  These  portions  from  the  prophets  they  call  inllltDSri 
(dismissions),  because  concluding  the  service. 

1.  The  origin  of  our  chapters  and  verses  in.  the  Old  Tes- 
tament is  thus  given. 

Cardinal  Hugo*  (fl.  about  1240)  was  che  first  who  com- 
posed a  Concordance  of  the  Scriptures.  It  was  for  the 
Latin  Vulgate  Bible.  He  found  it  requisite  to  divide  the 
several  books  into  sections  of  convenient  length,  each  mark-- 
ed  in  numerical  order.  These  sections  are  our  present 
chapters.  But  he  adopted  no  subdivisions  oi  chapters  ex- 
cept the  placing  of  the  7  first  letters  of  the  Roman  alpha- 
bet along  the  margin.  In  long  chapters  all  the  7  letters 
were  used,  in  short  ones  not  so  many*. 

The  advantages  which  Christians  derived  from  this  con- 
cordance were  so  apparent,  that  a  learned  Western  Jew, 
Rabbi  Isaac  (or  Mordecai)  Nathan,  undertook  compiling  a 
similar  concordance  ol  the  Hebrew  Bible  for  the  use  of  the 
Jews,  which   he  finished  A.  D.   1445.     He  adopted  the 


♦  Hugo  de  St.  Caro,  or  according  to  his  French  name  Hngiies  de  St. 
Cher,  was  a  native  of  Vienne  in  Dauphine,  studied  in  Paris,  became  a 
Dominican  friar  in  1225  and  died  1263.  He  is  said  to  have  employed 
500  monks  in  the  labor  of  composing  his  concordance. — Townly's  Bib- 
lical anecdotits. 

4* 


42 

division  of  chapters  as  arranged  by  Hugo,  but  made  a  great 
improvement,  by  substituting  the  verses  already  in  use 
among  the  Jews,*  in  place  of  the  cardinal's  distinction  by 
letters.  For  these  verses  being  now  numbered,  the  finding 
of  any  word  or  passage  was  rendered  far  more  easy.  The 
increasing  reputation  and  utility  of  this  work  rendered  Jews 
and  Christians  alike  desirous  of  possessing  bibles  arranged 
in  a  way  to  secure  its  benefits  in  their  researches.  Hence 
the  subsequent  introduction  of  those  chapters  and  verses 
into  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  of  every  language. 

9.  The  arrangement  of  the  books  adopted  in  our  com- 
mon bibles  is  in  most  respects  perhaps  as  good  as  any  that 
might  be  proposed,  exhibiting  1st  the  Historical  books  in 
Chronological  order,  and  next,  the  poetical  and  propheti- 
cal books ;  in  the  latter  the  4  larger,  being  followed  by  the 
12  minor  prophets. 

By  some,  how^ever,  it  has  been  thought  that  it  would  be 
an  improvement,  if  the  prophets,  at  least  the  minor  pro- 
phets, were  arranged  in  succession  according  to  their 
chronological  order. 

In  accordance  w4th  such  a  view,  the  following  classifica- 
tion and  arrangement  have  been  suggested. 

From  Jonah,  commonly  placed  about  800  years  B.  C. 
to  Malachi  was  a  period  of  about  400  years. 

The  order  of  the  intermediate  prophets,  with  these,  is 
given,  as  follows : 

I.  Before  the  Babylonish  Capthity. — 1.  Jonah,  2. 
Amos,  3.  Hosea,  4»  Isaiah,  5.  Joel,  6.  Micah,  7.  Nahum^ 
8.  Zephaniah.f 

IL  Near,  or  During,  the  Captivity. — 1.  Jeremiah,  2. 
Habakkuk,  3.  Daniel,  4.  Obadiah,  5.  Ezekiel.J 

III.  After  the  Restoration, — 1.  Haggai,  2.  Zecha- 
riah,   3.  Malachi. 

N.  B.  The  end  of  the  captivity  (which  lasted  70  years) 
is  placed  B.  C.  536. 


*  That  the  present  division  of  verses  then  existed  among  the  Jews 
is  evident  from  the  fact  that  they  are  essentially  connected  with  the 
vowel  system  ;  and  this,  all  admit,  had  existed  for  some  centuries. 

f  To  assist  the  memory,  place  them  in  this  technical  form.— -Joa- 
Am-Hos-Is ;  Jo-Mi-Na-Zeph. 

I  Memorial  word,  Jer-Hab-Dan-Ob-Ez. 


43 

The  preceding  scheme  is  furnished  by  Home,  in  which 
he  principally  follows  the  tables  of  Blair  and  Newcome. 

Jahn  regards  the  age  of  Joel,  Nahum,  Habbakuk,  Oba- 
diah  and  of  the  book  of  Jonah  as  uncertain.  Though  it  is 
generally  agreed  he  says,  that  Joel,  Nahum,  and  Habbakuk 
flourished  from  720  to  612  B.  C,  in  the  reign  of  Hezekiah, 
Amon,  Manasseh  and  Josiah,  and  that  Obadiah  lived  a 
short  time  after. 

End  of  Notes  on  Old  Testament  Canon. 


LECTURE  IX. 


Canon  of  the  New  Testament. 

The  several  pieces  which  compose  the  New  Testament, 
are  twent)'-seven  in  number. 

When  these  were  first  collected  into  one  volmne,  is  un- 
certain ;  nor  can  we  say  how  long  the  autographs  were 
preserved.  It  does  not  appear  that  any  council  of  the  prim- 
itive Christians  gave  any  decision  what  books  should  be 
received  by  the  Church.  The  particular  churches  and  in- 
di\'iduals,  to  whom  they  were  first  addressed  or  delivered 
by  the  apostles,  received  them  for  their  own  instruction, 
and  communicated  them  to  others.  In  this  way  these 
writings  w^ere  early  spread  among  Christians  throughout 
the  world — and  no  other  evidence  than  that  of  apostolic 
origin  or  approbation,  which  in  general  might  be 
readily  obtained,  was  deemed  requisite  to  establish  their 
divine  authority,  and  secure  religious  regard. 

We  accordingly  find  it  explicitly  stated,  among  the  ear- 
ly fathers,  as  a  principle  universally  admitted,  that  none 
were  empowered  to  write  doctrinal  epistles  which  should 
be  authorative  in  the  church,  except  the  apostles  :  and  no 
histories  by  apostolic  men  were  received  but  those  of  Mark 
and  Luke,  nor  these  except  on  satisfactory  evidence  that 
they  had  been  approved  by  apostles. 

And  we  conceive  that  the  only  rational  method  of  esti- 
mating, at  the  present  day,  the  canonical  authority-  of  the 
New  Testament,  is  by  considering  the  evidence  that  they 
were  received  from  the  first  as  apostolical,  by  those  who 
were  most  competent  to  know  and  judge  of  the  fact. 

On  this  subject  we  see  no  reason  for  bowing  to  the  de- 
cisions of  popes  or  councils,  whilst  the  claims  for  their  in- 
fallibility is  opposed  by  their  evident  discrepances  among 
themselves. 


45 

Nor  would  we,  with  many  protestants,  go  into  the  oppo- 
site extreme,  pleading  that  "there  are  internal  evidences 
in  the  scriptures,  which,  applied  by  the  illumination  or  wit- 
nessing of  the  Holy  Spirit,  are  the  only  true  proofs  of  their 
being  canonical  or  the  word  of  God." 

That  there  is  in  our  scriptures  an  essential  excellencCy 
widely  distinguishing  them  from  merely  human  composi- 
tions— that  there  is  in  the  real  Christian  a  spiritual  percep- 
tion and  relish  of  the  truths  there  contained,  imparting  to 
him  an  assured  persuasion  that  they  are  the  truths  of  God, 
we  fully  beheve.  Yet  it  may  well  be  doubted,  whether 
any  Christian  merely  by  that  spiritual  light  and  taste  which 
he  enjoys  in  common  with  his  brethren,  would  be  compe- 
tent to  settle  what  are  canonical  books,  separating  them 
from  all  such  as  may  have  falsely  claimed  that  character* 
His  own  conviction,  thus  obtained,  could  afford  evidence 
only  to  himself.  From  what  we  know  of  the  fantasies  and 
errors  of  even  good  men,  we  may  be  assured  that  by  this 
rule  of  judging,  a  wide  door  would  be  opened  to  enthusiasm, 
and  the  canon  of  the  scripture  rendered  variable  and  uncer- 
tain. It  is  a  rule  on  which  the  apostle  Paul  would  not  rely, 
for  he  wrote  his  salutation  to  the  several  churches  with  his 
own  hand,  that  they  might  distinguish  his  genuine  epistles 
from  counterfeits.*  It  is  also  a  ride  which  seems  to  ex- 
clude all  but  regenerate  persons  from  any  rational  belief  of 
the  divinity  of  the  scriptures,  a  belief,  we  are  persuaded, 
thousands  possess  while  they  are  still  strangers  to  the  saving 
power  of  the  truth. 

Hence  in  determining  the  canonical  authority  of  our 
Christian  books,  we  rely  on  such  arguments  as  may  satis- 
factorily shew  that  they  were  received  from  the  first  as 
apostolical  by  competent  judges. 

We  proceed  to  consider  the  evidence  respecting  those 
books  which  form  the  received  canon  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

This  subject  is  fully  treated  by  Dr.  Lardner,  in  his 
"Credibility  of  the  Gospel  History,'*'  and  the  result  of  his 
laborious  researches  is  given  with  clearness  and  brevity  by 


o  .  o 


*  Comp.  2d  Thess.  3  :  17,  1  Cor.  16  :  21,.  Col.  4  :  18,  -R-ith  2  Tbess, 


46 


Dr.  Paley  in  his  Evidences  of  Christianity,  (Part  I.  ch.  19). 
To  these  works  we  must  refer  for  details  of  the  arguments, 
which  our  limits  allow  us  to  give  only  in  outline. 

1.  From  the  age  of  the  apostles  our  canonical  scriptures 
were  cited  by  christian  writers — and  always  with  peculiar 
reverence  as  of  sacred  authority. 

2.  They  were  read  and  expounded  in  the  religious  as- 
semblies of  the  early  Christians. 

3.  Harmonies  of  the  evangelists,  and  commentaries  on 
our  .canonical  books  were  early  published. 

4.  The  enemies  of  Christianity,  and  its  opposing  sects, 
appeal  to  these  scriptures  as  containing  the  history  and 
doctrines  on  which  it  was  founded. 

5.  The  collection  of  christian  scriptures  was  early  made, 
and  distinguished  by  titles  of  peculiar  respect. 

6.  Early  versions  w^ere  made  into  other  languages.  Of 
these  the  Syriac  which  was  made  during  or  immediately 
after  the  age  of  the  apostles,  and  the  preservation  of  w^hich 
was  unknown  in  Europe  till  A.  D.  1562,  is  an  important 
witness.  It  contains  the  books  of  our  present  canon,  ex- 
cepting 2  Peter,  2  and  3  John,  Jude  and  Revelation. 

7.  We  have  various  cataloQ:ues  of  3d  and  4th  centuries, 
givmg  testimony  as  to  the  books  then  generally  received 
by  the  Christians. 


Authors  of  Cat. 
i.  Origen,  Al. 

2.  Easebiiis, 


3.  Adianas.  Al. 

4.  Cyril.  Jer. 

5.  Coun.  of  Laod. 

6.  Epiph.  Sal. 

7.  Greg.  Naz. 

8.  Philastriusb'p. 
of  Brixia,  Ven. 

9.  Jerome, 


Age.j  Compared  with  Ours. 

210i  Omits  James  and  Jude,  but  acknowledges 

them  elsewhere. 
315  Same  as  ours — but  says,  James.  2  Pet.,  2 
and  3  John,   though  generally  received, 
were  doubted  by  some,  as  also  Rev. 
315j  Same  as  ours. 
31 5J  Same,  except  Rev.  omitted. 
340|  Same,        do.  do. 

3fi4|  Same  with  ours. 
370  Omits  Rev. 

375  Names  but  13  Ep.  offaul,  and  omits  Rev. 
380 

382,  Same  as  ours,  dubious  of  Heb.,  which  else- 
where he  acknowledges. 
Same  as  ours, 
do. 
do. 
do. 


390 
394 
394 
390 


10.  Rufinus. 

11.  Augustine. 

12.  SdCoun.Carth. 

13.  Pseud.  Dionys, 

The  above  are  all  the  catalogues  which  remain  of  chris- 
tian canonical  books  as  furnished  by  early  writers,  aini 


47 

their  o-eneral  agreement  goes  far  to  establish  the  claims  of 
all  the  books  of  om-  present  canon.  And  we  may  well  be 
discharged  from  further  labor  to  establish  the  carionical 
character  of  those  in  whose  favor  all  our  authorities  are 
united,  viz  :  our  historical  books,  13  epistles  of  Paul,  and 
the  1st  of  Peter  and  of  John. 

The  books  universally  acknowledged  by  the  early  Chris- 
tians, are  often  designated,  after  the  example  of  Eusebius, 
the  Ecclesiastical  Historian,  y^a(pai  o.aoXo7J^fX£vai,  whilst  those 
w^hich,  for  the  time,  were  questioned  by  some,  were  distin- 
guished as,  ypa(pai  dvliksyoiisvai. 

The  Antilegomena,  are  these,  viz  :  (1.)  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews.  (2.)  Epistle  of  James.  (3.)  2d  Epistle  of  Pe- 
ter. (4.)  2d  Epistle  of  John.  (5.)  3d  Epistle  of  John, 
(6.)  Epistle  of  Jude.     (7.)  Revelation. 


[The  Lectures  on  the  Antilegomena  have  been  omitted.] 


LECTURE  Xm. 


Apostolical  Fathers. — The  name  of  *' Apostolical  Fath- 
ers'* has  been  given  to  those  early  christian  writers  who 
conversed  with  the  apostles,  and  whose  writings  are  still 
extant.  They  are  these  five  :  Barnabas,  Clemens  Roraan- 
us,  Hermas,  Ignatius,  and  Polycarp.  Their  genuine  writ- 
ings must  be  valued  by  all  christian  scholars,  especially  as 
exhibiting  the  earliest  testimony  to  the  books  and  instruc- 
tions derived  from  the  apostles  :  and  some  few,  even  in 
modern  times,  have  seemed  disposed  to  place  them  nearly, 
or  quite,  on  a  level  with  our  canonical  scriptures.  They, 
therefore,  call  for  our  notice  in  the  present  inquiry. 

1.  Epistle  of  BaPvNabas. — The  Barnabas  to  whom  this 
epistle  is  ascribed,  is  the  same  who  is  also  called  Joses,  a 
'  Levite  of  Cyprus,  v\'ho  laid  the  price  of  his  land  at  the  apos- 
tles' feet,  (Acts  4  :  36,  37,)  of  whom  it  is  said,  that  "he 
was  a  good  man  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith, 
(Acts  11 :  24) ;  and  who  preached  the  gospel  in  various 
parts  in  company  with  Paul,  from  whom  for  a  season  he 


was  separated,  but  is  afterwards  honorably  and  affection- 
ately mentioned  by  him,  (1  Cor.  3:6.) 

Barnabas  is  also,  in  several  instances,  styled  an  apostle, 
but  rather  as  a  messenger  to  execute  a  particular  commis- 
sion, than  in  the  higher  sense  of  the  word,  (Acts  14  :  4 — 
14.  compare  13 :  1 — 4,  14  :  26)  :  and  as  a  faithful  minis- 
ter he  might  justly  claim  the  same  privileges  of  support 
as  the  apostles,  with  whom  he  seems  therefore  associated 
by  Paul,  ( 1  Cor.  3 :  5,  6,  see  also,  Gal.  2  :  7 — 9).  None 
has  pretended  that  he  was  one  of  the  original  twelve,  or 
the  successor  of  Judas,  but  to  these  with  Paul,  it  has  been 
the  universal  practice  of  Christians  to  confine  the  appella- 
tion of  apostle  in  the  high  and  peculiar  sense  of  one  bear- 
ing the  general  commission  of  a  messenger  deputed  imme- 
diately by  our  Lord  himself. 

The  epistle  ascribed  to  Barnabas  was  written  in  Greek. 
The  first  chapters  are  w^anting  in  our  Greek  copies ;  the  de- 
fect, however,  is  supplied  by  an  ancient  Latin  version.  It 
consists  of  two  parts :  the  first  is  an  exhortation  to  constan- 
cy in  the  belief  and  profession  of  the  christian  doctrine,  in 
its  simplicity  without  the  rites  of  the  Jewish  law  : — the  se- 
cond part  is  composed  of  moral  instructions.  The  epistle  is 
not  inscribed  to  any  particular  church ;  and  hence  was 
sometimes  called  catholic. 

The  epistle  says  that  the  Jewish  temple  w^as  then  de- 
stroyed, and  shows  traces  of  having  been  written  soon  after 
that  event.  Its  antiquity  further  appears  from  citations  by 
early  Christian  Fathers,  who  also  ascribe  it  to  the  Barna- 
bas mentioned  in  our  scriptures. 

Clemens  Alexandrinus  often  quotes  the  epistle  of  Barna- 
bas, twice  calling  him  an  apostle,  but,  elsewhere,  the  apos- 
tolic Barnabas ;  adding,  "for  he  was  one  of  the  seventy, 
and  a  fellow-laborer  withPaul ;"  and,  in  another  place  de- 
scribing him  as  "Barnabas  who  Avas  a  fellow-preacher  with 
the  apostle  in  his  ministry  of  the  word  among  the  Gen- 
tiles." From  these  passages  we  may  judge  in  what  sense 
Clemens  regarded  him  as  an  apostle. 

Clement,  in  a  work  not  extant,  (Eusebius  says,)  among 
short  commentaries  on  all  the  books  of  Scripture,  gave  one 
on  Barnabas.  But  in  his  works  that  remain  we  have  evi- 
dence that  he  did  not  regard  this  book  of  sacred  authority. 


49 

Having  stated  a  symbolical  explanation  given  by  Barnabas 
of  a  Mosaic  precept,  he  dissents  from  the  explanation  and 
largely  disputes  the  alleged  fact  on  which  it  rests. 

Origen  twice  cites  the  epistle  of  Barnabas,  and  calls  it 
a  catholic  epistle,  but  does  not  admit  it  in  his  catalogue  of 
the  canon. 

Eusehius  places  this  epistle  among  the  spurious  books — 
and  among  those  controverted,  seeming  to  imply  a  suspicion 
that  it  is  not  a  genuine  writing  of  Barnabas. 

Jerome  says  of  this  epistle,  that  it  was  "written  for  the 
edification  of  the  church,"  ascribing  it  to  "Barnabas  of  Cy- 
prus, called  also,  Joseph,  the  Levite,  ordained  apostle  of  the 
Gentiles,  together  with  Paul ;"  but  adds,  that  it  is  read 
among  the  Apocryphal  scriptures. 

These  are  all  the  testimonies  of  the  first  four  centuries. 

This  epistle  was  never  inserted  in  any  of  the  early  cata- 
logues :  nor  cited  as  Scripture,  by  any  early  writers  :  nor 
read  as  such  in  the  churches. 

The  present  epistle  of  Barnabas  is  evidently  the  same 
with  that  so  called  by  the  Fathers,  but  its  acknowledged 
antiquity  has  not  united  modern  scholars  in  its  admission 
as  a  genuine  production  of  Barnabas.  Pearson,  Cave,  Du 
Pin,  Wake,  Lardner,  &c.,  are  disposed  to  receive  it  as  the 
work  of  Barnabas,  the  companion  of  Paul ;  whilst  Cote- 
lerius,  Basnage,  Fell,  Jones,  &c.  regard  it  as  spurious.  The 
last  named  author,  in  his  work  on  the  Canon  of  the  New- 
Testament  exhibits  in  detail,  arguments  to  prove  it  a  spu- 
rious, apocryphal  and  silly  piece.  It  certainly  gives  no 
high  opinion  of  the  judgment  of  its  author.  Milner,  (Ch. 
Hist.)  speaking  of  Barnabas,  says,  "It  is  a  great  injury  to 
him  to  apprehend  the  epistle  which  goes  by  his  name  to  be 
his." 

Be  it  genuine  or  not,  there  is  no  good  reason  for  rever- 
sing the  decision  which  in  every  age  of  the  church,  has  ex- 
cluded the  epistle  of  Barnabas  from  the  sacred  canon. 

2.  Epistle  of  Clemens  Rom. — The  epistle  to  the  church 
at  Corinth,  which  bears  the  name  of  Clement,  ancient  wri- 
ters asfree  in  ascribing;  to  that  Clement  whom  Paul  mentions 
among  his  "fellovz-laborers  v/hose  names  are  m  the 
book  of  life,"  (Phil.  4  :  3).  The  epistle  is  in  the 
name  of  the  church  of  Rome.  The  style  is  clear  and  sim- 
5 


50 

pie.  It  is  called  by  the  ancients  an  excellent,  useful,  great 
and  admirable  epistle  ;  nor  does  it  seem  unworthy  of  such 
commendations.  We  have  but  one  ancient  MS.  of  it,  and 
some  pages  are  lost.     Lardner  places  its  date  A.  D.  96. 

Irenceus  says  of  Clement  that  he  was  bishop  of  Rome, 
third  in  succession  from  the  apostles,  (Peter  and  Paul)  ;  that 
he  had  seen  and  conversed  with  them — had  their  preach- 
ing still  sounding  in  his  ears,  and  their  traditions  before  his 
eyes  :  that  on  occasion  of  dissensions  among  the  brethren 
at  Corinth,  the  church  at  Rome  in  his  time  sent  a  most  ex- 
cellent epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  persuading  them  to 
peace,  etc. 

Eusehius  agrees  with  this,  and  says,  "of  this  Clement, 
there  is  one  epistle  acknowledged  by  all,  a  great  and  ad- 
mirable epistle  which  as  from  the  church  at  Rome  he  wrote 
to  the  Corinthians  on  occasion  of  a  dissension  there  was 
then  at  Corinth.  And  we  know  that  this  epistle  has  been 
formerly,  and  is  still,  publicly  read  in  many  churches." 
Eusebius  also  adduces  an  extract  from  a  letter  of  Dionysius, 
of  Corinth,  (ab.  170,)  testifying  that  the  epistle  of  Clement 
was  wont  to  be  read  in  the  church  there,  from  ancient 
time. 

The  testimony  of  Jerome,  who  calls  this  a  very  useful 
epistle,  perfectly  agrees  with  that  of  Eiusebius. 

It  does  not,  however,  appear  to  have  been  received  as 
canonical,  by  any  among  the  ancients :  it  is  found  in  none 
of  their  catalogues :  it  is  found  at  the  end  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament in  the  celebrated  Alexandrine  manuscript :  but  so 
is  also  the  2d  epistle  of  Clement,  w^hich  the  ancients  gen- 
erally regarded  spurious  ;  and  the  Psalter  of  Solomon  was 
once  there  which  was  probably  never  acknowledged  by 
any  church.  This  epistle  is  usually  thought  the  only  gen- 
uine remains  of  Clement. 

3.  The  Shepherd  of  Hermas. — This  work  is  ascribed  to 
Hermas  whom  Paul  salutes,  Rom.  16  :   14. 

It  consists  of  three  books,  the  first  containing  four  vi- 
sions ;  the  second,  twelve  commands  ;  the  third,  ten  simili- 
tudes. 

It  is  called  the  Pastor  or  Shepherd,  because  the  angel, 
represented  as  giving  to  Hermas  the  instructions  of  the  two 
last  books,  appeared  in  the  habit  of  a  shepherd. 


51 

It  was  originally  in  Greek,  though  now  extant  only  in 
Latin,  and  appears  to  have  been  written  at  or  near  Rome, 
in  the  time  of  Clement. 

Its  antiquity  is  proved  by  quotations  in  Irenseus,  Clement 
of  Alex.,  Origen,  Tertullian,  &c. 

Irenceus  cites  the  pastor  of  Hermas  but  once,  and  in  this 
form,  "Well  therefore  spake  the  scripture  which  says,"  &c.; 
from  which  some  have  inferred  that  he  thought  it  inspired. 
But  Irenseus  probably  meant  no  more  by  scripture,  here, 
than  "writing."  So  the  w^ord  was  frequently  used  by  the 
ancients,  and  elsewhere  by  Ireneeus  himself.  Besides,  he 
makes  many  and  long  quotations  from  most  of  the  books  of 
the  New  Testament,  and  but  a  single  short  quotation  of  the 
book  of  Hermas,  w^hich  is  much  longer  than  any  of  those 
books. 

Clemens  Alex,  frequently  quotes  the  Shepherd,  and  as- 
cribes to  Hermas  a  divine  revelation. 

Tertullia7i  w^hilst  connected  with  the  church  catholic, 
has  been  thought  to  cite  this  book  as  inspired,  but  does 
nothing  more  than,  (like  Irenseus,)  to  call  it  ^Hhe  scripture 
of  Hermas,"  and  in  a  w^ay  plainly  shewing  that  by  the 
word  he  meant  nothing  more  than  "writing,  book  or  trea- 
tise. He  uses  the  same  word  in  speaking  of  heathen  au- 
thors ;  and  after  becoming  a  Montanist,  he  treats  this  book 
with  the  utmost  contempt  and  abhorrence,  and  still  speaks 
of  it  as  "  the  Scripture  of  the  Shepherd ;"  w^hilst  he  says 
that  it  was  reckoned  apocryphal  and  spurious  by  every  as- 
sembly, even  of  those  churches  w^hich  opposed  himself. 

Origen  thinks  the  Hermas  saluted  by  Paul  was  the  au- 
thor of  "the  Shepherd,"  which  Scripture  (or  writing)  says 
he,  "  appears  to  me  very  useful,  and,  as  I  think,  is  divinely 
inspired;"  elsewhere  calling  it  "a  book  in  which  there  is 
nothing  at  all  that  can  be  questioned."  But  he  evidently 
quotes  from  it  with  great  hesitation,  acknowledging  that, 
though  used  in  the  churches  it  was  not  accounted  divine 
by  all- — that  it  w^as  despised  by  some.  By  frequently  citing 
it  with  the  books  of  Maccabees,  Tobit,  &c.,  he  seems  to 
place  it  in  the  secondary  rank.  And  this  opinion  is  con- 
firmed by  the  fact  that  they  do  not  appear  in  his  catalogue 
of  canonical  books. 

Eusebius  mentions  Hermas,  who  was  named  by  Paul,  as 


52 

the  reputed  author  of  the  Shepherd,  which  he  says  "is  not 
to  be  placed  among  books  of  undoubted  authority-,  though 
some  regard  it  a  most  necessary  book,  especially  for  such 
as  are  to  be  instructed  in  the  first  elements  of  religion ;" 
adding  that  it  was  publicly  read  in  the  churches,  and  used 
by  some  very  ancient  writers. 

Jerome  gives  substantially  the  same  testimony,  except 
that  he  confines  its  public  reading  to  some  churches  of 
Greece,  adding  that  it  was  almost  unknown  among  the 
Latins. 

Athanasius  regarded  this  book  as  of  no  authorit}^ 

From  the  testimony  thus  exhibited,  it  is  apparent  that 
there  was  a  wide  diversity  among  the  ancients  as  to  the 
value  of  this  w^ork.  But  the  esteem  felt  by  its  warmest 
advocates  never  led  any  of  them  to  rank  it  Vv'ith  the  wri- 
tings of  the  apostles  :  it  is  found  in  none  of  the  early  cata- 
logues :  and  the  high  respect  which  for  a  season  it  enjoy- 
ed with  many,  was  followed  by  comparative  neglect — and 
very  few  at  the  present  day  on  reading  the  Shepherd  of 
Hermas  would  feel  disposed  to  advocate  its  claims  to  reli- 
gious regard. 

4.  Epistles  of  Ignatius. — Ignatius  was  bishop  of  An- 
tioch  in  Syria,  the  latter  part  of  the  1st  and  beginning  of 
the  2d  century.  He  is  said,  by  Chrysostom,  to  have 
conversed  familiarly  with  the  apostles,  and  to  have 
been  perfectly  acquainted  w^ith  their  doctrine.  His 
martyrdom  may  be  placed  A.  D.  107.  After  he  was  con- 
demned to  the  wild  beasts,  and  while  going  a  prisoner 
from  Antioch  to  Rome,  he  ^vrote  seven  epistles,  viz  : — • 
when  at  Smyrna,  w^ith  Polycarp,  one  to  the  Ephesians ; 
one  to  the  Magnesians  -,  the  3d  to  the  Trallians,  and 
the  fourth  to  the  Romans ;  after  leaving  Smyrna,  he 
wrote  to  the  Philadelphians,  to  the  Smyrneans,  and  to 
Polycarp. 

These  seven  epistles  mentioned  by  Eusebius  and  Jerome, 
are  probably  the  only  genuine  writings  of  Ignatius  that 
were  ever  extant.  Of  these  there  have  been  two  editions ; 
one  called  the  larger,  is  generally  believed  to  have  been 
greatly  interpolated,  but  the  smaller  is  thought  by  many 
learned  men  to  be  the  genuine  epistles  as  they  were  read 
and  quoted  by  Eusebhis  and  other  early  writers.     They 


53 

were  highly  esteemed  in  the  church ;  but  do  not  appear 
ever  to  have  been  regarded  as  canonical. 

5.  The  Epistle  of  Polycarp. — Polycarp  was  bishop  of 
Smyrna,  and  disciple  of  the  apostle  John.  He  suffered 
martyrdom  by  being  burned  at  Smyrna,  the  year  variously 
estimated  148,  167,  169.  He  wrote  an  epistle  to  the  Phi- 
lipians  soon  after  the  death  of  Ignatius,  or  about  108. 
This  epistle  is  still  extant,  and  is  all  that  is  known  of  his 
writings.  Irenasus,  who  in  his  youth  had  heard  Polycarp, 
hio-hly  commends  his  piety  and  holy  instructions,  but  neither 
he  nor  other  early  writers,  in  mentioning  this  epistle,  re- 
gard it  canonical. 

The  greater  part  of  this  epistle  is  extant  in  Greek,  and 
it  is  entire  in  a  Latin  version. 

P.  S.— This  epistle  of  Polycarp  consists  chiefly  of  ex- 
hortation to  perseverance  and  progress  in  christian  faith 
and  practice,  very  much  in  the  manner  and  even  language 
of  Paul. 

On  a  review  of  what  has  appeared  in  our  inquiry,  respect- 
ing the  writings  of  the  Apostolical  Fathers,  we  seem  justified 
in  the  conclusion,  that  although  in  reference  to  some  of  them, 
early  christian  writers  expressed  much  higher  regard  than 
modern  scholars  would  be  ready  to  own  ;  yet  in  relation  to 
none  of  them  does  the  most  favorable  advocate  go  farther 
than  to  place  them  in  a  secondary  rank,  below  the  canoni- 
cal or  apostolical,  and  among  Ecclesiastical  books,  or 
such  as  may  be  read  "for  example  of  life  and  instruction  of 
manners,  but  of  no  authority  to  establish  any  doctrine." 

We  certainly  find  no  ground  to  claim  for  them  a  higher 

rank. 

References  — On  the  subject  of  the  Apostolical  Fathers  and  their 
writings,  see  Archbishop'Wake.  His  translation  may  also  be  found  in. 
the  Apocryphal  New  Testament. 

In  the  preceding  notes  I  have  principally  relied  on  Lardner's  Credi- 
bihty.     Vol.  1. 


LECTURE  XIV. 


Apocryphal  Books  of  the   New  Testament. — Christ- 
ian writers  of  the  first  four  centuries  notice  many  spurious 

3nd  apocryphal  pieces,  entitled  Gospels,  Epistles,  Acts, 

5*. 


54 

Revelations,  &c.,  to  which  were  affixed  the  names  of 
Christ,  his  apostles,  their  companions  and  others.  The 
practice  of  publishing  such  spurious  works  probably  ex- 
isted in  the  time  of  the  apostles.  (See  Luke  1 :  1,  2,  Thes. 
2:  2,3:   17,  Gal.  1:  6.) 

A  great  proportion  of  these  pieces  are  no  longer  extant, 
and  of  many  of  them  we  know  nothing  more  than  their 
titles.  Jeremiah  Jones,  in  his  "  New  and  full  method  of 
settling  the  canonical  authority  of  the  New  Testament," 
has  furnished  an  alphabetical  catalogue  of  these  lost  apo- 
cryphal works,  with  references  to  the  several  passages 
where  they  are  mentioned.  The  titles  collected  by  him 
are  70;  but  the  same  book  is  noticed  by  different  authors 
under  various  names,  and  general  titles  comprise  separate 
works  which  are  also  comprehended  in  the  list. 

His  list  may  also  be  found  in  "  the  Apocryphal  New 
Testament."* 

Jones  proceeds  to  exhibit  and  discuss  every  citation  made 
of  these  several  pieces  in  the  first  4  centuries.  Our  limits 
confine  us  to  a  few  general  remarks. 

The  writers  who  give  us  all  the  information  we  have 
concerning  them,  on  noticing,  seldom  fail  expressly  to  re- 
ject them  as  forgeries,  and  therefore  as  spurious  and  apo- 
cryphal :  and  if  they  do  not  reject  at  the  time  of  citing 
them,  they  plainly  shew  elsewhere  in  their  writings  that 
they  did  not  receive  them  as  canonical,  and  in  many  in- 
stances specify  the  heretical  sects  or  individuals  to  which 
they  owed  their  origin. 

As  to  the  reasons  why  the  fathers  gave  any  attention  to 
these  spurious  pieces  we  will  let  them  speak  for  them- 
selves. Origen  says,  "The  church  receives  only  four 
gospels;  the  heretics  have  many,  such  as  that  of  the 
Egyptians,  of  Thomas,  &c.  Tfiese  we  read  that  we  may 
not  be  esteemed  ignorant ;  and  by  reason  of  those  who 
imagine  they  know  something  extraordinary  if  they  know 
the  contents  of  these  books."  To  the  same  purpose  is  the 
language  of  Ambrose,  when  after  mentioning  several  apo- 
cryphal pieces  he  says,  "  We  read  these,  that  they  may 

*  And,  without  the  references  to  ancient  authors,  in  '^  Alexander  on. 
the  Canon." 


55 

not  be  read ;  we  read  them  that  we  may  not  seem  igno- 
rant ;  we  read  them,  not  that  we  may  receive  but  reject 
them,  and  may  know  what  those  things  are  of  which  they 
make  such  boasting." 

The  writers  of  these  pieces,  to  give  them  the  show  of 
probabihty,  would  doubtless  avail  themselves  of  such  ac- 
credited traditions  as  might  yet  remain  of  the  actions  and 
discourses  of  Christ.  This  may  account  for  the  circum- 
stance that  one  or  two  writers  have  cited  without  censure 
passages  from  books  which  they  still  regarded  as  spurious 
and  apocryphal.  Thus  Jerome  quotes  the  Hebrew  gospel, 
though  he  condemns  it  as  apocryphal. 

These  writings  were  evidently  unknown  to  the  great 
body  of  Christians  ; — many  of  them  had  never  been  seen 
by  the  most  distinguished  Christian  scholars,  who  mention 
them  only  from  report ; — those  which  they  had  seen  they 
condemn ; — none  of  them  have  been  preserved  : — by  all 
these  circumstances  they  are  widely  distinguished  from  our 
canonical  books  which  have  been  known,  esteemed,  and 
religiously  preserved  by  Christians  of  every  age  to  the 
present  day. 

The  apocryphal  writings  which  claim  connexion  with 
the  history  or  persons  of  the  New  Testament,  and  which 
are  still  extant,  are  the  following,  viz  : 

An  epistle  of  Jesus  Christ  to  Abgarus, 

The  Apostolical  Constitutions, 

The  Apostolical  Canons, 

The  Apostles'  Creed, 

The  Gospel  of  our  Savior's  infancy^ 

The  Gospel  of  the  birth  of  Mary, 

The  Protevangelion  of  James, 

The  Gospel  ol  Nicodemus, 

The  Martyrdom  of  Thecla,  or  Acts  of  Paui^ 

The  Epistle  of  Paul  to  Laodiceans, 

The  Six  epistles  of  Paul  to  Seneca.* 

*  Besides  these,  Jones  mentions  "  The  Epistle  of  Christ,  which  fell 
down  from  heaven  at  Jerusalem  directed  to  the  priest  Leopas  of  the 
eity  Eris,  and 

Abdias'  History  of  the  12  apostles  ;"but  gives  no  further  account  of 
them,  and  of  the  former  I  meet  no  information  elsewhere.  Archbishop 
Wake  mentions  "The  lives  of  the  Apostles,  ascribed  to  Abdias,  bishop 
of  Babylon;  and  supposed  to  have  been  written  by  him  in.  the  Hebrew 


66 

These,  as  well  as  the  apocryphal  pieces  which  are  lost, 
derive  their  chief  interest  from  the  opportunity  they  have 
furnished  to  sceptics  of  modern  times  to  attack  the  authori- 
ty of  our  present  canon.  Toland  in  1698  published  his 
Amyntor,  in  which  he  had  given  a  catalogue  of  books 
(amounting  to  80)  attributed  in  the  primitive  times  to 
Jesus  Christ,  his  apostles  and  other  eminent  persons,  "  to- 
ofether  w^ith  remarks  and  observations  relating-  to  the  canon 
of  scripture."  These  books  he  has  done  w^hat  he  could  to 
place  on  a  level  with  those  of  our  canon.  He  makes  the 
groundless  representation  that  the  latter  lay  concealed  in 
the  coffers  of  private  persons  till  the  times  of  Trajan  or 
Adrian,  and  w^ere  unknown  to  the  clergy  or  churches  of 
those  times,  nor  distinguished  from  the  spurious  works  of 
heretics :  and  that  the  scriptures  now  rejected  were  indis- 
criminately cited  and  appealed  to  with  those  now  received. 
Notwithstanding  the  insidious. attack  was  apparent,  yet  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  maintain,  in  a  later  publication,  that  his 
design  in  his  Amyntor  was  not  to  invalidate,  but  to  illustrate 
and  confirm  the  canon  of  the  New  Testament. 

The  able  replies  which  were  given  to  Toland*  appear 
to  have  silenced,  for  a  long  period,  this  mode  of  assault, 
but  it  has  been  recently  renewed  in  a  manner  calculated 
to  deceive  those  who  are  strangers  to  the  unanswerable 
arguments  by  which  this  adversary  had  been  vanquished. 
Most  of  the  pieces  mentioned  above  as  extant,  together 
with  those  of  the  apostolical  fathers,  have  been  given  to 
the  public  under  this  title  :  "The  apocryphal  New  Testa- 
ment, being  all  the  gospels,  epistles,  and  other  pieces  now 
extant,  attributed  in  the  first  four  centuries  to  Jesus  Christ, 
his  apostles  and  their  companions,  and  not  included  in  the 
New  Testament  by  its  compilers.     Translated  from  the 


tongue,"  among  other  apocryphal  pieces  all  of  Avhich  he  declares  loo 
evidently  spurious  to  find  an  advocate  among  the  most  credulous. 
[See  also  Murdoch's  Mosh.  I.  n.] 

To  the  list  here  given  is  now  to  be  added  "The  acts  of  Thomas," 
•which  Jones  had  inserted  among  those  apocryphal  pieces  which  are 
lost,  but  which  has  been  since  discovered  and  was  edited  by.  Thilo  at 
Leipsic,  1823.  Bretschneidcr  consulted  it  for  illustration  of  New  Tes- 
tament Greek,  in  preparing  the  2d  edition  of  his  Lexicon. 

*  The  character  of  Toland's  Amyntor  and  of  the  several  replies  may 
1>e  found  in  Leland's  view  of  Deistical  writers,  vol.  I.  pp.  49-52, 


57 

original  tongues,  and  now  collected  into  one  volume,  with 
prefaces  and  tables  and  various  notes  and  references. 
London  :  1820."  Second  edition,  1821,  8vo.*  The  title- 
page  is  surrounded  with  a  broad  black  rule,  such  as  marks 
the  8vo.  editions  of  the  New  Testament  in  the  last  cen- 
tury ;  the  different  books  are  divided  into  chapters  and 
verses,  with  tables  of  contents  like  those  found  in  all  edi- 
tions of  the  English  bible  ;  the  preface  seems  to  favor  the 
views  of  the  opposers  of  revelation,  but  the  editor  has  dis- 
claimed any  sinister  design  in  publishing  it,  and  we  may 
charitably  conclude  that  his  sincerity  is  equal  to  that  of 
Toland  himself. 

1.  The  epistle  of  Jesus  Christ  to  Abgarus,  king  of  Edessa. 

The  epistle  of  our  Lord  in  answer  to  one  of  Abgarus  is 
first  noticed  in  the  history  of  Eusebius,  who,  we  are  told, 
procured  it  from  the  archives  of  Edessa. 

N.  B.  The  epistle  of  Abgarus  and  of  Christ  in  reply  may 
be  found  in  Wake's  Introd.  to  his  "Apostol.  Fathers,"  Al- 
exander on  canon,  Apocryphal  New  Testament. — Cahnet's 
Dictionary,  Jones  on  Canon,  &.c. 

On  reading  these  epistles  and  the  relation  of  incidents 
connected  with  them,  and  considering  the  silence  of  pre- 
vious writers,  we  shall  readily  agree  with  Jones  that  there 
is  ground  to  pronounce  them  spurious  for  the  following 
reasons,  viz : 

(1.)  Nothing  is  said  of  them  in  the  gospels,  nor  by  any 
writer  of  first  3  centuries. 

(2.)  After  Eusebius,  the  epistle  seems  to  have  been  uni- 
versally rejected. 

(3.)  In  it  there  is  cited  as  scripture  a  passage  of  John's 
gospel.f 

'^'^  Several  editions  of  this  work  have  been  published  among  lis,  and 
in  some  portions  of  our  country  have  been  industriously  circulated. 

The  translation  of  the  apostolical  fathers  is  that  of  Archb.  Wake, 
and  it  is  so  acknowledged  j  but  not  a  hint  is  given  of  the  compiler's 
obligations  to  Jones'  work,  whose  translation  of  the  apocryphal  pieces 
he  adopts  without  scruple.  The  honest  mention  of  Jones  might  have 
furnished  an  antidote  to  the  poison. 

t  The  words  are  "  Abgarus  you  are  happy,  for  as  much  as  you  have 
believed  on  me  whom  you  have  not  seen,  for  it  is  written  concerning 
me,  that  those  who  have  seen  me  should  not  believe  on  me,  that  they 
who  have  not  seen  might  believe  and  live."     Comp.  John  20  :  29, 


58 

(4.)  Christ  strangely  defers  the  heaUng  of  Abgarus. 

(5.)  He  speaks  of  his  ascension  more  plainly  than  to  his 
own  disciples. 

(6.)  The  explicit  acknowledgement  of  Christ's  divinity 
made  by  a  distant  heathen  prince  seems  incredible ;  but 
after  doing  so,  more  strangely  still,  he  invites  him  for  safety 
from  the  Jews  to  come  to  Edessa,  and  offers  him  half  his 
kingdom. 

The  utter  improbability  of  other  circumstances  of  the 
accompanying  history  justifies  suspicion  that  the  whole 
account  is  a  mere  fable. 

The  genuineness  of  this  portion  of  Eusebius,  Jones  re- 
gards as  dubious.  But  admitting  that  it  is  from  the  pen  of 
Eusebius,  and  even  that  such  records  were  actually  found 
at  Edessa,  abundant  cause  remains  to  believe  that  all  origi- 
nated in  imposture. 

Lardner  admits  the  genuineness  of  the  record,  as  found 
in  Eusebius,  but  accords  with  Jones  in  the  reasons  for  re- 
jecting the  extraordinary  story  ;  ascribes  the  letters  to  the 
pen  of  some  Edessene  Christian  near  the  time  of  Eusebius, 
and  thinks  that  this  historian,  receiving  the  account  in  the 
manner  stated  by  himself,  thought  it  worthy  of  insertion  in 
his  history. 

2.  The  Apostolic  [or  Clementine]  constitutions. 

The  work,  now  extant  under  this  name,  consists  of  8 
books,  and  professes  to  have  been  directed  by  the  12  apos- 
tles, in  concurrence  with  their  fellow  apostle  Paul  and  the 
rest  of  the  elders  and  the  7  deacons,  to  all  gentile  believers  ; 
and  although  several  of  the  ordinances  are  distinguished 
by  the  names  of  particular  apostles,  yet  the  whole  of  this 
work  and  all  its  constitutions  are  delivered  in  the  name  of 
all  the  Christian  apostles  and  as  from  God  himself. 

The  messengers  by  whom  these  constitutions  claim  to 
have  been  sent,  are  Clement,  Barnabas,  Timothy,  and 
Mark,  with  whom  they  also  recommend  Titus,  Luke,  Jason, 
and  Sosipater. 

If  this  work  is  what  it  plainly  claims  to  be,  we  doubt- 
less ought  to  agree  with  Whiston,  however  singular  he 
may  be  in  his  opinion,  that  "  the  Apostolical  constitutions 
are  the  most  sacred  of  the  canonical  books  of  the  New 
Testament.'' 


59 

The  first  writer  who  cites  any  work  by  this  title  is  Epi- 
phanius  (368),  who  says  it  was  doubted  of  by  some,  but 
he  seems  to  regard  it  as  a  good  ecclesiastical  or  catholic 
writing,  though  not  canonical.  There  is  good  reason, 
however,  to  conclude  that  the  work  cited  by  him  was  dif- 
ferent from  the  apostolical  constitutions  as  now  extant. 

The  next  who  mentions  a  work  of  this  title,  and  the 
first  who  alludes  to  its  division  into  books,  is  the  author  of 
the  "  Imperfect  work  on  Matthew"  whom  Lardner  places 
after  the  end  of  the  5th  century. 

When  w^e  consider  the  silence  of  the  early  christian  wri- 
ters, and  the  diversity  of  opinions  in  the  church  of  the  first 
centuries,  on  points  explicitly  decided  by  these  constitutions, 
we  cannot  doubt  but  that  the  work  in  question  was  then 
unknown.  The  apostolical  Constitutions  have  no  external 
evidence  to  support  their  claim. 

Their  internal  evidence  is,  if  possible,  more  adverse. 

(1.)  They  quote  books  of  the  New  Testament  in  a  way 
unsuitable  to  apostles.* 

(2.)  They  mention  heretics  later  than  the  apostolic  age, 
and  bear  other  marks  of  after  time.f 

(3.)  They  maintain  sentiments  unworthy  of  apostles.t 

(4.)  They  exhibit  inconsistencies.§ 

In  fine,  there  is  no  room  to  doubt  of  the  work's  being  an 
an  imposture.  The  author  probably  lived  at  the  close  of 
the  4th  or  beginning  of  the  5th  century — seems  to  have 
been  an  Arian — fond  of  church  power,  and  of  pomp  and 
ceremony  in  religious  worship. 

*  In  such  forms  as  these  "  Christ  says  in  the  gospel  [quoting  Mat. 
5  :  27]  : — "  In  the  same  manner  it  is  written  also  in  the  gospel"  [Luke 
6:  28]  &c.  &c.  Evident  quotations  are  made  in  this  way  from  Johii's 
gospel;  which  we  have  reason  to  think  did  not  exist  whilst  all  or  even 
any  good  number  oi  these  apostles,  &:c.  were  alive. 

f  Particulars  of  a  later  date  than  the  apostolical  age,  are  specified 
by  Lardner,  to  the  number  of  about  30. 

\  E.  g. — Admitting  concubines  to  baptism,  provided  only  they  were 
faithful  to  their  unbelieving  keepers — the  comparison  of  a  bishop  to 
God  the  Father,  of  Jesus  Christ  to  a  deacon,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
a  deaconess  ;  appointing  prayers  for  the  dead  and  offering  them  the 
sacrament,  &;c.  &c. 

^  As  the  union  of  the  twelve  apostles  with  Paul  and  the  seven  dea- 
cons in  forming  these  constitutions  after  the  death  of  James  and  Ste- 
phen— ordaining  that  martyrs  should  be  honored,  especially  James 
and  Stephen,  &c.  &;c. 


60 

N.  B. — For  what  is  said  on  this  and  the  following  piece, 
Lardner  is  the  principal  authority. 

(3.)  The  Apostoijcal  Canons. — These  are  eighty-five 
in  number,  and  make  similar  claim  to  apostolical  origin ; 
but  are  destitute  of  evidence  from  waiters  of  the  early  ages, 
and  exhibit  internal  marks  of  a  later  origin.  As  they  now^ 
appear  they  must  have  been  composed  subsequent  to  the 
apostolical  constitutions.* 

4.  The  Apostles'  Creed. — This  is  a  piece  familiar  to 
all.  The  variety  found  in  early  summaries  of  christian 
doctrine  in  the  form  of  short  creeds  or  confessions  of  faith, 
satisfactorily  proves  that  this  symbol  w^as  not  given  by  the 
apostles.  After  the  4th  century,  however,  it  was  general- 
ly received  as  proceeding  from  them.  It  appears  not  to 
liave  been  composed  at  once,  but  from  small  beginnings 
was  gradually  augmented  to  meet  heretical  errors  as  they 
rose.  Its  authority  must  rest  only  on  the  evidence  of  its 
exhibiting  scriptural  truth. 

N.  B. — Full  information  on  the  subject  of  this  section, 
raay  be  found  in  King's  History  of  the  Apostles'  Creed. 


LECTURE  XV. 


5.  The  Gospel  of  our  Savior's  Infancy. — There  were, 
in  the  early  church,  books  of  Christ's  infancy  which  bore 
the  names  of  Matthew  and  Peter,  were  received  by  the 
Gnostics  in  the  2d  century,  and  several  relations  in  which 


*  The  85th  and  last  canon  closes  thns  :  "But  our  sacred  books,  that 
is  of  the  New  Testament,  are  the  4  gospels  of  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke 
and  John,  14  epistles  of  Paul,  2  epistles  of  Peter,  3  of  John,  1  of  James, 
1  of  Jude,  2  epistles  of  Clement,  and  the  Constitutions  inscribed  to 
you  bishops  by  me,  Clement,  in  8  books,  (which  ought  not  to  be  divul- 
ged before  all,  because  of  the  mystical  things  in  theni;)  and  the  Acts 
of  us  the  apostles." 

If  this  canon  from  the  time  of  the  apostles  had  been  known  and  re- 
ceived as  theirs,  there  would  not  have  been  such  diversities  as  existed 
in  the  first  three  centuries  as  to  the  reception  of  several  books  of  our 
canon,  nor  would  the  epistles  of  Clement  have  been  excluded. 

The  clause  in  parenthesis  savors  of  an  impostor,  probably  the  same 
who  composed  the  Constitutions,  and  who  was  anxious  to  provide  a 
reason  why  all  antiquity  had  been  silent  respecting  them. 


61 

were  credited  by  writers  in  the  following  ages,  viz :  Eiise- 
bius,  Athanasius,  Epiphanius,  Chrysostom,  Sozomen,  &c. 

A  fragment  of  a  "Gospel  of  our  Savior's  infancy,"  un- 
der the  name  of  Thomas,  was  published  in  Greek,  from  a 
MS.  in  the  French  King's  Library,  by  Cotelerius,  in  his 
Notes  on  the  Constitutions  of  the  Apostles. 

A  much  larger  work,  of  the  same  title,  but  without  as- 
cription of  an  author's  name,*  was  published  in  Latin,  by 
Henry  Sike,  at  Utrecht,  1697.  Both  of  these  pieces  w^ere 
published  with  translations  in  the  work  of  Jones,  and  his 
translations,  with  introductions  garbled  from  him,  and  w^ith- 
out  acknowledgment,  as  usual,  may  be  found  in  the  apo- 
cryphal New  Testament. 

The  professed  object  of  both  pieces,  is,  to  give  an  account 
of  things  connected  with  the  infancy  and  childhood  of  our 
Lord.  They  appear  to  have  been  originally  the  same,  or 
to  have  been  derived  at  least  from  one  source. 

Several  incidents  herein  stated,  are  found  in  the  Koran. 

The  Gospels  of  Christ's  infancy,  and  these  in  particular, 
are  apocryphal, 

(1.)  Because  not  acknowledged  authentic  by  any  of 
the  ancient  Christians. 

(2.)  Because  they  entirely  depend  on  a  known  false- 
hood, viz  :  that  Jesus  wrought  miracles  before  he  began 
his  public  ministry.     (See  John  2  :   11.) 

(3.)  They  abound  in  idle  and  silly  stories.  [Jones  col- 
lects 32.  II.  247,  &c.  ;  specimens  may  be  found  by  the 
following  references  to  chapter  and  verse  of  apocryphal 
New  Testament :  larger  gospel,  1  :  3,  2 :  2 — 4,  3  :  2,  4 — 
10,  4 :  5,  13,  14—17,  5  :  4,  6  :  1—4,  5—7,  11—14,  17, 
34,  7 :  3,  &c. ;  smaller,  1  ch.  throughout,  2  :  18,  3 : 
throughout.] 

(4.)  They  contain  evident  falsehoods.  [Christ's  birth  in 
a  cave,  and  before  Mary  could  get  to  Bethlehem,  1 :  Zo- 
roaster's prophecy,  3:1;  Joseph's  leaving  Egypt  for  fear 
of  Egyptians,  5  :  1 — 3  ;  miracle  by  Mary,  6:3;  the 
king  of  Jerusalem's  sending  for  Joseph  to  make  a  throne, 
&c.,  16  :  representing  Jesus  as  revengeful  and  murderous. 


*  The  -uTiter  at  the  ontset  professes  to  have  taken  his  accounts  from 
the  book  of  Caiaphas  the  high  priest. 
6 


62 

with  slight  or  no  provocation,  as  in  the  several  instances, 
19  :  21,  24,  20:  15  ;  also,  in  smaller  gospel,  2  :  9. 

(5.)  They  exhibit  opinions  and  practices  that  did  not 
exist  until  a  later  age.  (1.)  Particularly  they  exhibit 
throughout  a  superstitious  reverence  of  the  virgin  mother, 
canonizing  her  by  the  titles,  of  "Diva  Maria,"  "Diva  Sanc- 
ta  Maria,"  making  her  work  a  miracle,  and  usually  the  me- 
dium of  their  being  wrought.  (2.)  The  specimens  of  sacred 
relics  in  the  preservation  of  the  foreskin  or  navel-string — 
and  of  the  swaddling  clothes,  and  of  the  water  with  which 
the  child  had  been  washed,  and  their  miraculous  effects. 

Jones  supposes  that  Leucius  Charinus,  (called  also,  Se- 
leucus,  and  by  various  other  names,)  a  notorious  forger  of 
apocryphal  pieces  at  the  close  of  the  3d  century,*  so  far  al- 
tered and  interpolated  a  previous  Gnostic  gospel  of  Christ's 
infancy,  as  to  be  reputed  its  author,  and  that  the  one  now 
extant  is  his,  subsequently  still  farther  interpolated. 

6,  7.  The  Protevangelion  of  James — The  Gospel  of 
THE  Birth  of  Mary. — We  place  these  pieces  together  be- 
cause they  both  profess  to  give  accounts  of  remarkable  inci- 
dents of  the  nativity  and  early  life  of  the  virgin  Mary  ; 
and  because  from  the  Protevangelion,  which  is  the  fuller 
narrative,  the  gospel  of  the  nativity  of  Mary  was,  it  is  pro- 
bable, chiefly  derived :  though  in  several  instances  they 
contradict  each  other. 

The  Protevangelion  is  extant  in  Greek,  and  claims  for 
its  author  the  apostle  James,  the  less.  It  is  ancient,  being 
mentioned  by  Epiphanius. 

Postellus  first  brought  it  into  Europe,  from  the  Levant, 
and  translated  it  into  Latin ;  it  w^as  published  by  Biblian- 
der,  A.  D.  1552 ;  who  with  Postellus  exerted  himself  to 
maintain  its  merits. 

The  gospel  of  the  birth  of  Mary  is  found  in  Latin  in  the 
works  of  Jerome,  who  translated  it,  as  is  stated,  from  the 
Hebrew.f     There  was  certainly  a  gospel  under  this  name 

*  Grabe,  IMill,  Beaiisobre,  Cave  and  Lardner,  unite  in  placing  Leu- 
cius in  the  2d  century,  but  vary  as  to  the  precise  time  from  135  to  180 
A.  D. 

t  This  translation,  as  the  work  of  Jerome,  and  the  letter  of  the  bish- 
ops Chromatins  and  Heliodorus  to  Jerome,  requesting  him  to  translate 
it,  and  the  letters  of  Jerome  on  the  subject,  as  given  in  his  works,  are 
regarded  by  Lardner,  &c.  supposititious. 


63 

in  the  early  ages  which  was  received  by  several  of  the  he- 
retics ;  although  it  appears  to  have  differed  in  some  parti- 
culars at  least  from  this. 

Several  of  the  incidents  related  in  these  pieces  appear  to 
have  been  credited  by  catholic  Christians  of  different  na- 
tions ;  but  that  neither  of  them  has  good  claim  to  admis- 
sion into  the  canon,  is  shewn  by  the  following  considera- 
tions : — 

(1.)  They  are  not  found  in  any  of  the  catalogues  of 
sacred  books,  given  by  the  early  Christians,  but  are  ex- 
pressly rejected  as  trifling,  spurious  and  apocryphal  by  the 
Christian  writers  who  mention  them  in  the  first  four  centu- 
ries ;  and  they  were  never  read  in  their  religious  assemblies. 

(2.)  They  contain  things  contrary  to  known  truth. 
In  the  Protevangehon,  e.  g.,  (1.)  Reuben  is  said  to  be  high 
priest  about  the  time  of  Mary's  birth.  But  no  such  name 
is  found  in  the  catalogue  of  high  priests,  and  according  to 
Josephus,  Simon,  son  of  Boethus  Alexandrinus,  was  then 
high  priest.  (2.)  Mary  taken  to  the  temple  at  3  years  of 
age  and  retained  in  the  temple  as  a  consecrated  ^nun  till 
marriageable,  implies  a  custom  of  which  we  have  no  trace 
in  the  Scriptures,  Josephus,  or  the  Rabbins.  (3.)  The  high 
priest  who  consulted  God  about  disposing  of  Mary  in  mar- 
riage, is  called  Zacharias,  and  he  is  further  said  to  be  father 
of  John  Baptist ;  but  we  know  that  Ms  father  was  not  high 
priest,  and  that  another  person,  and  of  a  different  name, 
was  high  priest  at  the  time  supposed.  (4.)  The  birth  of 
our  Savior  in  a  cave,  and  desert  place.  (5.)  The  story  of 
the  death  of  Zacharias,  made  up  of  what  is  said  of  the 
Zechariah,  2  Chron.  24  :  20,  and  by  Luke  of  the  father 
of  the  Baptist.  (6.)  Simeon,  evidently  the  same  mention- 
ed by  Luke  2 :  25,  is  made  successor  to  Zacharias  as  high 
priest. 

The  gospel  of  Mary  is  false,  (1.)  In  making  Issachar 
high  priest  about  the  time  of  Mary's  birth ;  in  this,  also, 
conti'adicting  the  statement,  equally  false,  of  the  Protevan- 
gehon. (2.)  In  having  Mary  abide  in  cells  of  the  temple 
from  3  years  old  until  14,  and  adding,  that  this  was  ac- 
cordins:  to  custom. 

(3.)  They  abound  in  things  trifling,  silly  and  fabulous. 
E.  g.,  in  Protevangelion, — 


64 

The  virgin  walking'nine  steps  at  nine  months  of  age ; 

Her  leaping  and  dancing  by  divine  aid,  on  third  step  of 
the  altar ; 

A  dove  flying  out  of  Joseph's  rod,  and  lighting  on  his 
head  ; 

Ceasing  of  all  sorts  of  motion  at  our  Savior's  birth,  &c. 

In  the  gospel  of  Mary, — the  Virgin's  familiarity  with 
angels,  and  their  daily  visits  ,* 

The  dove's  descending  from  heaven,  and  settling  on  Jo- 
seph's rod ; 

The  Virgin's  knowing  the  countenance  of  the  angels,  &c. 

(4.)  The  manner  of  the  composition  of  these  pieces  in- 
dicate forgery,  as  they  mainly  consist  of  numerous  scriptu- 
ral incidents  evidently  stolen,  and  made  to  meet  beyond  all 
belief  in  the  persons  of  their  own  story. 

This  will  be  evident  on  the  most  cursory  perusal. 
(Particulars  will  be  found  in  Jones,  2  vol.  p.  153.) 

(5.)  The  Protevangelion  exhibits  several  contradictions. 

Mary  denies  all  knowledge  of  the  matter,  after  the  angel 
had  given  her  a  particular  account  of  the  manner  of  her 
conception. 

After  stating  the  birth  of  Jesus  to  have  been  in  a  desert 
place  and  in  a  cave — the  writer  seems  forgetfully  to  agree 
with  Matthew,  that  he  was  born  at  Bethlehem. 

Jones  supposes  that  the  original  composition  of  these 
pieces  was  by  some  Jew  or  Hellenist,  but  that  Leucius 
Charinus  may  have  so  modified  them  as  to  have  obtained 
the  reputation  of  being  their  author.  But  Lardner  sees 
no  ground  of  doubting  the  ancient  account  that  their  com- 
position is  to  be  ascribed  to  Leucius,  who  is  also  called  by 
the  various  names,  Lucanus,  Lucius,  Leicius,  Lentitius,  Le- 
ontius,  Lentius,  Seleucus,  Leucius- Charinus,  Leonides  and 
Nexocharides. 

Jones'  translation  of  both  the  above  pieces  may  be  found 
in  "the  Apocryphal  New  Testament." 

8.  The  Gospel  of  Nicodemus,  or  the  Acts  of  Pilate. — 
Justin  Martyr  in  his  address  to  the  Roman  Emperor  Antoni- 
nus Pius  repeatedly  appeals  to  "the  Acts  of  Pontius  Pilate," 
for  the  truth  of  our  Savior's  miracles  and  sufferings.  Ter- 
tulUan  also,  in  his  apology  for  Christianity  against  the  Hea- 
then, makes  similar  appeals  to  records  transmitted  by  Pi- 


65 

late  to  Tiberius  Cccsar.  His  account  is  cited  by  Eusebius 
and  by  Jerome  as  genuine  and  authentic.  And  modern 
Christian  apologists  and  critics  have  maintained  the  fact 
of  the  existence  of  such  acts  or  records. 

Eusebius  repeatedly  mentions  a  recent  heathen  forgery, 
styling  it,  "  Memoirs  of  Pilate  and  our  Savior,"  and  which 
he  says  was  filled  with  all  blasphemy  against  Christ. 

As  the  apocryphal  piece  we  are  now  to  consider  can 
also  be  traced  to  the  close  of  the  3d  century,*  Jones  con- 
cludes it  probable  that,  partly  to  oppose  the  heathen  for- 
gery, and  partly  to  sustain  the  appeals  made  by  former 
Christians  to  "  the  acts  of  Pilate,"  some  Christian  about 
this  period  published  the  work  in  question.  The  author- 
ship by  various  internal  arguments,  he  fixes  on  the  noted 
Leucius. 

The  first  notice  of  a  book  among  Christians  entitled 
"The  acts  of  Pilate"  is  by  Epiphanius,  [died  403],  who 
gives  a  passage  (found  in  the  present  work)  w^hich  was 
appealed  to  in  the  controversy  about  the  time  of  observing 
Easter. 

The  work  as  now  extant  claim.s  Pilate  for  its  author, 
and  states  that  he  wrote  dowm  ail  the  transactions  of  Jesus 
Christ  among  the  Jews,  and  placed  his  book  among  other 
public  writings  in  his  palace.  And  at  the  close  we  are 
told  that  Theodosius  the  Great  [Emp.  380]  found  it  in 
Jerusalem  in  the  palace  of  Pontius  Pilate.f 

When  or  by  whom  the  title  of  "  the  gospel  of  Nicode- 
mus"  was  given  first  to  this  work  is  uncertain,  but  the 
reason  of  it  is  found  in  the  conspicuous  part  he  bears  in  the 
events  recorded. 

No  Greek  original  is  extant,  but  our  Latin  copy  gives 
indications  of  being  a  translation  from  the  Greek. 

The  work  is  apocryphal  because 

1.  It  is  found  in  none  of  the  Christian  catalogues  of  sa- 
cred books — nor  cited  in  any  old  Christian  writings,  nor 
read  in  any  of  the  churches. 

2.  It  contains  contradictions,  e.  g.  ( 1.)  on  one  occasion 


*  But  see  next  note. 

t  If  this  concluding  notice  is  from  the  hand  of  tlie  author  [and  in  it 
is  found  the  passage  referred  to  by  Epiphanius]  the  composition  evi- 
dently cannot  be  placed  earlier  than  the  close  of  the  4ih  century. 
6* 


66 

12  native  Jews  refuse  an  oath  by  the  life  of  Caesar  tender- 
ed them  by  Pilate,  alleging  that  by  their  law  all  swearing 
is  prohibited ;  yet  on  another  occasion  the  Elders,  Scribes, 
Priests  and  Levites  are  brought  in  swearing  by  the  life  of 
Caesar  without  any  scruple  :  and  again  other  Jews  swear 
by  the  law  :  and  again  Pilate  administers  an  oath  to  a 
whole  assembly  of  the  Scribes,  chief  priests,  &c. 

(2.)  On  one  occasion  Pilate  gives  in  a  speech  a  fair 
abstract  of  the  Old  Testament  history  ;  but  afterwards  is 
made  to  be  perfectly  ignorant  of  the  Bible  and  of  its  con- 
tents, and  only  to  have  heard  of  the  book  by  report. 

3.  It  contains  what  is  inconsistent  with  known  truths. 
E.  g.  The  confinement  of  all  the  holy  Patriarchs  in  hell 

till  delivered  on  Christ's  descent  thither  :  the  Jews'  under- 
standing our  Lord  to  say  he  would  destroy  Solomon's  tem- 
ple :  making  Centurio  the  name  of  a  man  who  came  to 
Christ :  ascribing  the  words  of  Paul,  1  Cor.  15  :  55  (O  death, 
&c.,)  to  Isaiah  :  making  Simeon  to  be  High  priest,  &c.^^ 

4.  It  contains  many  silly  things. 

E.  g.  The  standards  bowing  to  Christ  as  he  passed  : 
his  kissing  Joseph  and  confining  him  to  his  house  40  days  : 
all  the  accounts  from  hell — viz :  the  speeches  of  the  pro- 
phets, Seth's  going  to  the  gates  of  paradise  to  get  from 
God  an  ointment  for  Adam's  headach ;  the  dialogues  of 
the  devils ;  Christ  giving  the  thief  the  sign  of  the  cross  as 
his  passport  to  heaven :  the  identity  of  the  independent 
writings  of  Lenthius   and  Charinus,  &c.  &c. 

5.  It  contains  what  must  have  been  later  than  its  pre- 
tended origin. 

E.  g.  The  story  of  Christ  going  to  hell  to  recover  thence 
the  patriarchs :  the  various  employment  of  signing  with 
the  cross,  &c. 

6.  It  employs  the  records  in  our  present  gospels ;  and 
often  uses  the  language  by  or  concerning  other  persons 
and  events  in  our  scriptures  in  reference  to  those  of  its  own 
narrative.     See  various  instances  in  Jones,  II.  349. 

*  The  angel  Michael  is  made  to  r-al!  Adam,  fatlier  of  the  angels. 
The  Higli  priests  (Annas  and  Caiaphas)  are  made  to  declare  thai  by 
the  measiire  of  the  ark  they  knew  that  Jesus  Christ  was  to  come  in 
the  flesh  5500  years  from  the  creation ;  btit  their  calculation  of  the 
periods  falls  short  of  the  suni  bv  536  years. 


67 

9.  The  Martyrdom  of  Thecla,  or  the  acts  of  Paul 
AND  Thecla. — A  female  martyr  by  the  name  of  Thecla  is 
frequently  named  by  early  writers  of  the  church,  and  many 
of  their  allusions  accord  with  incidents  recorded  in  this 
piece. 

An  apocryphal  book  under  the  title  of  "the  acts  of  Thec- 
la and  Paul,"  and  claiming  Paul  for  its  author  was  early 
known  in  the  Christian  church,  as  appears  from  the  testi- 
mony of  Tertullian,  (200,)  Jerome  and  Gelasius.  And  Ter- 
tullian  further  testifies  that  "  a  certain  presbyter  of  Asia, 
who  forged  the  book  and  adorned  his  performance  with  the 
name  of  Paul,  was  convicted  of  the  forgery,  and  confessed 
that  he  did  it  out  of  respect  to  Paul,  and  so  left  his  place."* 

This  original  forgery  probably  forms  the  basis  of  the 
present  work,  which  exhibits,  however,  decisive  evidence 
of  much  later  matter. 

It  is  extant  in  Greek  and  was  published  by  Grabe  from 
a  manuscript,  in  the  Bodleian  Library  at  Oxford.f 

The  work  is  proved  spurious  and  apocryphal. 

1.  From  the  confession  of  the  author. 

2.  By  its  uniform  neglect  or  rejection,  from  the  first. 

3.  Its  exhibition  of  untruths,  Ex.  gr.  (1)  Paul's  prohi- 
bition of  marriage.  (2)  His  denying  all  knowledge  of 
Thecla  his  friend  and  companion.  (3)  His  commission  to 
Thecla  as  a  preacher. 

4.  Its  idle  fables — ex.  gr.  (1)  The  description  of  Paul's 
person.  (2)  Paul's  preaching  3  days  at  once,  &c.  (3) 
Falconilla  from  the  dead  requesting  Thecla's  prayers.  (4) 
Dying  of  the  fishes  when  Thecla  was  baptized-. 

5.  Its  exhibiting  things  later  than  the  time  of  Paul,  viz  : 
Besides   praying   for   the   dead, — Thecla's  signing  her 

body  with  the  cross,  &c. 

10.  The  epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Laodiceans. — From 
Coloss.  4  :  16,  some  in  every  age  have  supposed  that  Paul 
wrote  an  epistle  to  the  Laodiceans ;  though  the  passage 
does  not  prove  it.  Some  modern  critics  have  contended 
that  our  present  epistle  to  the  Ephesians  is  the  one  refer - 


*=  Lardner  explains  this  last  phrase  of  his  deposition  from  office. 

t  The  Greek  copy  is  not  perfect,  but  the  defect  is  supplied  by  an  old 
Latin  version,  and  which  Lardner  supposes  freer  from  interpolations 
than  the  Greek. 


68 

red  to  by  Paul,  but  their  arguments  have  not  generally 
been  deemed  satisfactory. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  2d  century  there  was  an  epistle 
of  Paul  to  the  Laodiceans  received  by  Marcion  in  part  at 
least,  and  which  Epiphanius  distinguishes  from  that  to  the 
Ephesians,  but  which  Tertullian  says  was  the  same,  and 
that  Marcion  and  his  followers  had  falsified  the  title. 

In  either  case  the  present  piece  is  different  from  that  of 
Marcion,  and  is  a  mere  compilation  from  Paul's  genuine 
epistles,  especially  from  that  to  the  Philippians  :  two  MSS. 
are  found,  one  in  the  Sorbonne  library  at  Paris,  the  other 
at  Padua  ;  they  are  in  the  Latin,'*  and  from  the  last  men- 
tioned, Sixtus  Sinensis  published  his  edition  which  has 
been  often  reprinted.  Jones  has  given  it,  with  a  transla- 
tion, side  by  side,  of  the  passages  from  Paul's  genuine  epis- 
tles which  form  the  compilation.!  He  regards  it  a  forgery 
of  no  ancient  date. 

11.  Paul's  6  Epistles  to  Seneca,  [in  reply  to  8  from 
HIM.] — Letters  between  Paul  and  Seneca  as  early  as  the 
4th  century  were  received  and  read  by  many,  as  is  evident 
from  the  testimony  of  Jerome  and  Augustine.  But  w^hat 
opinion  these  fathers  entertained  as  to  their  being  genuine 
cannot  be  so  readily  ascertained.  We  have  no  evidence 
that  any  other  ancient  Christian  writer  had  seen  or  heard 
of  these  epistles. 

The  present  epistles  are  probably  the  same  with  those 
referred  to  by  Jerome. 

They  are  regarded  spurious,  1.  Because  their  style  is 
utterly  unlike  that  of  Paul's  and  Seneca's  acknowledo-ed 
WTitings. 

2.  The  dating  of  letters  by  consulships  is  unexampled : 
the  doing  it  by  correspondents  in  the  same  city  seems  idle, 
and  the  dates  by  these  consuls  on  examination  prove  false. 

3.  The  trifling  contents  are  alike  unworthy  of  Seneca 
and  of  Paul. 


*  So  at  least  one  would  judge  from  the  copy  furnitshed  by  Jones. 
But  Pritius  gives  the  Greek  with  a  latin  version  of  his  own,  in  sub- 
stance little  varying  from  the  text  of  Jones, 

t  His  tranjslation  and  the  related  passages  may  also  be  found  in 
Home's  Introd.  and  his  translation  alone  in  Alexander  on  Canon,  and 
in  apocryphal  New  Testament. 


69 

4.  The  favor  of  Nero  to  Christianity,  and  the  advice  of 
Paul  that  Seneca  should  venture  no  more  on  the  subject  to 
Nero,  seems  hardly  reconcileable  :  and  each  part  is  utterly 
at  variance  with  the  estabhshed  character  of  Nero  and  of 
Paul. 

The  hint  suggesting  the  forgery  was  probably  taken 
from  Phil.  1:  13,  4  :  22,  and  the  high  moral  reputation  of 
Seneca,  one  of  Ceesar's  household. 


LECTURE  XVI. 


Arrangement  of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament — 
HISTORY  OF  ITS  TEXT,  &c. — The  27  books  or  pieces  com- 
prised in  the  New  Testament  form  three  classes : 

5  Historical  books, 

21  Epistles,  chiefly  doctrinal,  and 

1  Prophetical. 

Ancient  records  exhibit  a  two-fold  arrangem.ent  of  the 
evangelists,  viz  :  Matthew,  John,  Luke,  Mark ;  and  Mat- 
thew, Mark,  Luke,  John  :  the  first  was  probably  made  in 
reference  to  the  rank  of  the  writers,  the  apostles  taking 
precedence  of  those  who  were  only  assistants  of  apostles; 
and  is  found  in  the  oldest  Latin  translations, — in  some 
Latin  writers, — and  in  the  Gothic  version — but  in  no 
Greek  manuscript  except  that  of  Cambridge ; — whilst  the 
other  is  observed  in  all  the  old  translations  of  Asia  and 
Africa,  in  all  early  catalogues,  and  in  Greek  manuscripts ; 
and,  by  the  testimony  of  Origen  and  other  early  fathers, 
exhibits  the  order  in  which  the  evangelists  wrote ;  and  is 
that  which  is  now  universally  adopted. 

It  has  been  made  a  question  whether  "  the  Acts"  w^as 
by  the  early  Christians  placed  in  the  Evangelicon,  (the 
division  containing  the  gospels,)  or  in  the  Apostolicon, 
(that  comprising  the  epistles)  ;  and  if  in  the  latter,  wheth- 
er it  preceded  or  followed,  the  epistles  of  Paul.  Its  loca- 
tion appears  not  to  have  been  uniform.  It  was  often  men- 
tioned by  ancient  writers  immediately  after  the  gospels ; 
is  so  found  in  several  catalogues  and  ancient  manuscripts  ; 
and  seems  appropriately  to  take  that  position. 

The  epistles  exhibit  fourteen,  usually  ascribed  to  Paul, 


70 

and  seven,  of  other  apostles  ;  the  latter  have  been  distin- 
guished by  the  title  of  "  the  cathohc  epistles." 

Those  of  Paul  have  commonly,  though  not  uniformly, 
preceded  the  catholic  in  early  catalogues,  &c.,  and  no  rea- 
son exists  for  displacing  them  from  the  rank  which,  by 
common  consent,  they  now  occupy. 

The  order  of  Paul's  epistles  among  themselves  has  gen- 
erally been  that  which  they  now  hold :  some,  however, 
placed  "Hebrews"  before  "  Timothy,  Titus,  and  Philemon." 
The  arrangement  is  not  chronological.  The  larger  epis- 
tles are  placed  first, — and  of  these,  that  to  the  Romans 
took  precedency,  according  to  Theodoret  and  others,  as 
exhibiting  the  completest  view  of  Christian  doctrine.* 
*^  Hebrews"  was  placed  last  on  account  of  doubts  which 
have  existed  whether  Paul  was  its  author. 

The  name  "  Catholic"  was  apphed  to  the  seven  remain- 
ing epistles  by  Eusebius  and  by  earlier  writers.  The  rea- 
son of  the  name  is  variously  assigned. 

(1.)  Whitby,  Lardner  and  others,  (after  (Ecumenius,) 
say  they  were  called  Cathohc  [universal,  or  general,]  be- 
cause not  written  to  behevers  of  some  one  city  or  country, 
OLto  individuals  (as  were  Paul's ;)  but  to  Christians  in  gen- 
eral, or  of  several  countries.  This,  they  contend,  is  the 
case  w^ith  five,  and  to  these  the  two  others  were  joined. 

(2.)  Others,  (as  Hammond,  Macknight,  &c.,)  suppose 
that  originally  the  1st  of  Peter  and  1st  of  John  were  called 
Catholic,  to  distinguish  them  from  the  five  that  for  a  time 
w^ere  doubted  ;  but  that,  the  authority  of  these  latter  being 
at  length  generally  admitted,  they  also  obtained  the  name 
Catholic,  i.  e.  universally  received. 

This  view  has  in  its  favor  that  it  suggests  the  best  rea- 
son we  can  well  devise  why  among  the  Latins,  these  epis- 
tles were  also  denominated  "  the  seven  Canonical  epistles.^^ 
(3.)  Hug,  in  his  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament,  ad- 
vances another  opinion.f  "  Cathohc  epistles"  he  regards 
as  a  technical  name  appropriated  to  that  class  which  com- 

*Another  opinion  noticed  by  Theodoret,  and  adopted  by  many,  is 
that  the  dignity  of  the  cities  and  people  determined  the  succession  of 
the  epistles  addressed  to  them. 

t  It  seems  to  have  been  first  proposed  by  Calovius,  and  adopted  by 
Jo,  Henr.  Maius.    See  Pritii  Int.  p.  63. 


71 

prised  the  didactic  writings  of  the  apostles  collectively, 
except  Paul. 

He  explains  himself  thus  :  "  When  the  gospels  and 
Acts  of  the  apostles  constituted  one  peculiar  division,  the 
works  of  Paul  also  another,  there  still  remained  writings 
of  different  authors,  which  might  likewise  form  a  collec- 
tion by  themselves,  to  which  a  name  must  be  given.  It 
might  most  aptly  be  called  the  common  collection  y.a&o'Kmv 
tfuvlayfi-a  of  the  apostles,  and  the  treatises  contained  in  it, 
xoivai  and  xaSoXixaj,  which  are  commonly  used  by  the  Greeks 
as  synonimous."* 

The  order  of  the  Catholic  epistles,  as  given  by  the  an- 
cients, is  not  uniform ;  but  by  far  the  greater  number  offer 
that  which  is  found  in  our  common  copies,  and  the  rest 
have  no  ao;reement  amono;  themselves. 

The  apocalypse,  distinct  from  all  the  other  writings  of 
the  New  Testament  by  its  prophetic  character,  seems  pro- 
perly to  stand  by  itself,  and  to  conclude  the  whole  :  a  po- 
sition which  has  been  usually  assigned  it  from  of  old. 

MATERIALS,  CHARACTERS,  FORMS,  &c.  OF  MANUSCRIPTS 
OF  THE   GREEK  TEXT  OF  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

The  oldest  material  emploj'ed  for  manuscripts  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment was  Papj'riis  or  Egyptian  paper.  But  certainly  in  the  4th  cen- 
tiiry,  copies  designed  for  durability  and  especially  those  for  public  use, 
were  written  on  parchment  or  the  skins  ot  animals.  The  rich  prided 
themselves  in  copies  distinguished  by  the  thinness  of  the  skin,  beauty 
of  the  character,  and  richness  of  the  ornaments.  The  general  use  of 
parchment  was  superseded  in  the  11th  century  by  that  of  paper  made 
of  cotton  or  silk. 

The  earlier  manuscripts  ai^  all  in  the  large  character,  or  what  has 
been  called  uncial  writing.  This  style  of  letter  was  maintained  by 
the  Calligraphists  without  material  change  till  toward  the  9th  century, 
during  which  several  letters  of  the  alphabet  gradually  lost  their  forms 
and  proportions,  and  towards  its  close  the  cursive-w  riting  was  formed, 
which  in  the  iOth  century  was  that  in  general  use.  The  earliest  cur- 
sive manuscript  we  meet  with  is  of  the  year  890.  As  might  be  ex- 
pected however,  the  uncial  character  was  also  still  employed  ■  and  for 
manuscripts  of  the  New  Testament  and  especiall}^  for  church-copies 
and  those  designed  for  splendor,  was  longer  retained  than  for  other 


*But  this  would  hardly  account  for  calling  a  single  epistle  '■'  cath- 
olic,'' nor  for  the  employment  of  the  term  by  those  who  acknowledged 
but  two  of  the  seven.  Such  a  collection  ?7iight  aptly  enough  be  called 
the  common  collection,  but  we  want  the  evidence  that  it  was  actually  so 
called. 


72 

purposes.    Yet  manuscripts  of  the  10th  century  are  far  most  numer- 
ous ill  the  cursive  form. 

The  New  Testament  had  originally  no  marks  of  punctuation,  and 
remained  so  for  a  long  period.  The  words,  as  also  in  works  of  pro- 
fane literature,  were  not  separated  by  intervals,  but  letters  of  a  whole 
line  stood  as  a  single  word.  The  reader  was  thus  obliged  to  separate 
and  combine  the  letters,  in  order  to  form  the  words,  and  discover  the 
sense.  Hence,  in  the  fathers,  in  translations,  and  in  manuscripts;  we 
find  instances  of  words  singularly  divided  and  combined.*' 

But  although  the  difficulty  and  hazard  ot  using  such  a  text,  and  es- 
pecially in  its  public  reading,  must  have  been  great,  no  remedy  seems 
Xo  have  been  provided  till  after  the  middle  of  the  5th  century.  It  was 
then  that  Euthalius,  a  deacon  of  Alexandria,  conceived  the  idea  of 
exhibiting  the  text  in  divisions  xa7a  pvsc:.  His  method  was  to  set 
in  one  Hne  or  g-jyoc:  just  so  many  words  as  were  to  be  read  uninter- 
ruptedly, so  as  more  clearly  to  disclose  the  sense  of  the  author.  At 
the  close  of  each  book  the  number  of  these  stichoi  was  noted  .f 

The  convenience  of  this  arrangement  secured  its  extensive  adoption. 

These  stichoi  are  very  short,  often  but  a  single  word,  and  indicate 
suspensions  in  reading  which  frequently  would  not  with  us  justify  the 
insertion  of  a  comma.  They  supplied  no  distinction  of  longer  and 
shorter  pauses. 

To  save  the  vacant  space,  copyists  next  indicated  the  division  of 
stichoi  by  a  point,  and  continued  the  line  unbroken. 

The  way  was  thus  prepared  for  these  who  felt  the  need  of  improve- 
ment, to  employ  their  skill  in  devising  adequate  distinctions  of  the 
sense  according  to  fixed  rules.  This  by  varied  means  was  gradually 
efiected.  We  cannot  therefore  ascribe  its  accomplishment  to  any  par- 
ticular person  or  precise  time.  That  in  the  10th  century  a  regular 
punctuation  was  employed  in  the  New  Testament  is  certain  : — that  it 
is  met  with  in  books  of  the  New  Testament,  belonging  to  the  9th  cen- 
tury is  equally  true  :  and  it  seems  also  found  in  some  books  of  the  8th 
century.  The  mention  of  the  number  of  the  Euthalian  giyoi  "^^'^-s  con- 
tinued at  the  end  of  each  book,  even  in  those  manuscripts  which 
ceased  to  mark  them  in  the  text.  The  siichometrical  edition  of  Eu- 
thalius was  also  furnished  \\'\i\\acce7its.X  nor  is  it  certain  that  the  books 
of  the  New  Testament  had  been  previously  written  with  them.  But 
transcribers  after  Euthalius,  and  even  in  stichometrical  manuscripts, 
frequently  oraiited  them. 

There  are  found  in  early  christian  writers  various  names  given  to 
the  sections  into  which  their  sacred  books  were  divided. 

Of  these  the  earliest  is  'Kspi-Kontai   ^  name  given  to  the  church-les- 


*  Specimens  are  given  by  Hug.  Introd. 

fit  seems  doubtful  whether  Euthalius  completed  his  scheme  as  to 
the  gospels.  The  pr^fiala  '^f  the  gospels,  the  number  of  which  is  giA'- 
en  by  some  manuscripts,  must  have  been  much  the  same  as  the  rjyoj. 

See  Hug's  Int.  I.  243. 

X  Euthalius  states,  in  the  preface  to  his  edition  of  Acts  and  Catholic 
epistles,  that  he  had  written  them  xala  Trpotfw^iav,  which  as  used  by 
Greek  grammarians  would  comprise  the  breathings  and  accents. 


73 

sons,  or  portions  read  in  their  weekly  religious  assemblies.  These 
eventually  were  reduced  lo  extracts  from  historical  books  and  epistles. 
Ammonius  in  the  3d  century  divided  the  gospels  into  sections,  usu- 
ally called  xsfflaXaia  or  chapters.*  They  were  also  subsequently  di- 
vided, but  by  whom  is  uncertain,  into  larger  portions  distinguished  as 
TirXoi  or  titles,  probably  because  to  each  was  prefixed  a  notice  of  its 

contents.  There  are  very  few  manuscripts  which  do  not  exhibit  them 
both. 

The  relative  length  of  these  different  species  of  sections  may  be 
seen  by  the  following  statement. 

Matthew  had  68  tj7Xoi  355  xSip. 

Mark  49  236 

Luke  83  342 

John  18  232 

The  edition  of  Euthalius  already  noticed,  exhibited  the  Acts  and  epis- 
tles divided  into  cephalaia  which  had  been  previously  adopted,  and  to 
which  he  prefixed  summaries  of  contents,  f 

Dionysius  of  Alexandria  in  the  3d  century  speaks  of  the  Cephalaia 
of  the  Apocalypse :  and  Andreas  of  Capadocia,  distributes  this  book 
into  twenty-four  Xovoj  ^^d  seventy-two  cephalaia.^ 

The  present  division  of  the  New  Testament  into  chapters  and  verses 
IS  comparatively  modern.  The  chapters,  as  is  generally  admitted, 
were  introduced  by  Cardinal  Hugo  (1240,)  lo  facilitate  the  formation 
and  use  of  his  concordance  of  the  Latin  Vulgate.  The  division  into 
verses,  is  the  work  of  Robert  Stevens,  and  first  appeared  in  the  edi- 
tion of  the  New  Testament  published  by  him  in  1551.  He  placed  the 
numbers  of  the  verses  on  the  margin^  without  breaking  the  connexion 
of  the  text.  Beza  in  his  editions  set  the  example  of  splitting  the 
Greek  text  into  the  verses  of  Stephens. 


*  From  their  brevity  we  should  rather  call  them  paragraphs  or  sec- 
tions.   The  7,7Xo;  are  sometimes  also  called  xsipakaia  and  'n's^mifat. 

t  The  subscriptions  at  the  end  of  Paul's  epistles  in  our  printe  d  edi- 
tions and  the  common  Greek  manuscripts  were  written  by  Euthalius. 
Marsh's  Mich.  11.  904. 

t  The  summaries  or  arguments  of  all  the  titloi  of  the  gospels,  and 
of  the  cephalaia  of  the  other  books  may  be  found  in  the  Introduction  of 
Pntius,  pp.  347-362. 

Acts  had  40  cephalaia,  Romans,  19, 1  Corinthians,  9,  2  Corinthians,  11, 
Galatians,  12,  Ephesians,  10,  Philippians,  7,  Colossians,  10, 1  Thessaio- 
)iians,  7,  2  Thessalonians,  6,  1  Timothy,  18,  2  Timothy,  9,  Titus,  6, 
Philemon,  2,  Hebrews,  22,  James,  6,  1  Peter,  8,  2  Peter,  4,  1  John,  7, 
2  John,  1,  3  John  1,  Jude  4,  Revelations,  72. 

^  Pritii.  Intro,  p.  406. 


Printed  by  H.  Ivison,  Jr.  for  the  use  of  Students  of  Theol.  Seminary. 

Oliphani's  Press,  Auburn. 


/ 


-      UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


w 

P  APB16W5 

WAR  25  T)ifi 

INTERUBRARi'  LOAn 

FEB  2  6  B'oo 

UNIV.  Of  CAUF..  BES; 


30m-l,'15 


Id  HI 53V 


.y 


'■'^ 


«^w 


;;  7^^ 

wm 

i' ' 

- .-i/"  ^Bfc|joSSB^KHKBM| 

L'    ■"  '—Ty-'  IM.     ^•■:^'---   />'  i 

^-,.   ;-^  f/       ^:^^^r'^<^<^ 

1  ."            .> 

\   ...    • 
iriiiOT^-"-i 

^HHPIHH|||HHHB|HHII^V^  >■-.  •   ''-   --^^j,:!:^/^  ^.;^ 

^5l.2?^ 

if-  — 

t  * 

^^ 


>^ 


'•F 


•  'mi 


^X-^ 


r-> 


^^^Tv-, 


